[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E866-E867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING CHRIS TOMPKINS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 4, 2005

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Chris Tompkins, a 
young man whose short but extraordinary life recently came to an end.
  I met Chris many years ago during my first campaign for Congress. He 
held campaign signs for me on street comers, though the signs were 
nearly as big as him. I could tell then, even at such an early age, 
that he was a go-getter. I knew that Chris was a special young man who 
would achieve much. And achieve he did.
  Chris served as one of my congressional pages during his junior year 
of high school. He went on to the University of Florida, where he 
enrolled in the honors program. He became the University's first Truman 
Scholar and later served as student body president of Florida's law 
school.
  After law school, Chris worked as a legislative aide to a local state 
House member where he played an integral role in crafting the State's 
Y2K plan. Chris then returned to Hillsborough County to become an 
agricultural attorney. He was elected supervisor of the Hillsborough 
Soil and Water Conservation District and became heavily involved in 
Republican politics, serving as a member of the county's Republican 
Executive Committee for 16 years. He also volunteered his time and 
talents to many civic causes because he cared about the community in 
which he lived.
  Chris was in the midst of a campaign for the Florida House of 
Representatives when he

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was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Through it all, 
Chris kept his head high, often cheering up those of us trying to lift 
his spirits. He passed away last weekend surrounded by the friends and 
family who so loved him.
  Mr. Speaker, my heart aches for Chris and his family. I hope that his 
mother, Betty Jo, is comforted by knowing that Chris enriched my life 
and the lives of others he touched. We shall never forget him or the 
long legacy he has left.

                          ____________________