[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 85 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO ROBERT G. WANNAMAKER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 17, 2004

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of South 
Carolina's leading executives, Robert G. Wannamaker, General Manager of 
Tri-County Electric Cooperative. Mr. Wannamaker, who will be retiring 
at the end of this month, has spent his entire career insuring that 
rural areas in South Carolina's Sixth Congressional District have 
access to reliable, affordable electricity.
  Throughout his 23 years with the Cooperative, Mr. Wannamaker has led 
his team to many profound successes, especially in times of crisis. 
This past January he impressively managed the effects of a natural 
disaster when one of the most violent ice storms in South Carolina's 
history tore through the state's Midlands leaving roughly 15,000 Co-op 
customers without power. Mr. Wannamaker directed a recovery process 
that had total restoration of power within a week despite extensive 
damage to more than 250 poles and 200 cross arms.
  Mr. Wannamaker began his career with McCall-Thomas Engineering 
Company of Orangeburg as an Engineering Assistant. He was hired at Tri-
County in January of 1972 by the late Dewey Kemmerlin, Jr. as a field 
designer and staking engineer. He was later promoted to the position of 
manager of member services, which he held until he left Tri-County Co-
op to become the district manager of the Johns Island District of 
Berkeley Electric Co-op near Charleston. He is a graduate of 
Spartanburg Methodist College and the University of South Carolina and 
serves as a member of community development committees and 
organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring and 
congratulating Mr. Wannamaker on a distinguished career of insuring a 
better quality of life for rural citizens of South Carolina. His work 
has given thousands of customers the reliability and convenience of 
having efficient energy services through even the most challenging 
conditions. And he will be sorely missed.




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