[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 75 (Wednesday, June 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6219-S6220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO ANGEL CAMPBELL, COUNSEL AND SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I rise today to pay a special tribute to 
Ange1 Campbell. She is my counsel and director of my Special Projects 
Office. This outstanding staffer will be leaving my office after 8 
years of exceptional service to spend more time with her growing 
family.
  Angel is the epitome of a dedicated, hard-working public servant. She 
has been remarkably gifted at advocating for Mississippi, the place we 
both call home, to Federal executives in the many government 
departments and to fellow congressional staffers. I know that many 
constituents from the State of Mississippi will also feel her absence. 
There are many staffers working in Congress who will miss her detailed, 
knowledgeable explanations of the infrastructure features that are 
unique to our home State to help them while drafting legislative 
initiatives. And that is why I want to take a moment with my colleagues 
to recognize and to thank Angel for her many genuine contributions to 
my office and to the citizens of Mississippi.
  Angel is a native of Southaven, MS. She received her bachelor's 
degree from the University of Mississippi and later earned her law 
degree from Samford University. She and her husband, Terry, have three 
wonderful and energetic children; Taylor, Trey, and Jackson. Even as 
her family grew while on my staff, she continued to balance her 
priorities and served both her family and Mississippi well.

[[Page S6220]]

  Angel truly loved fixing the problems and challenges our Mississippi 
constituents called and wrote about. She understood their frustrations 
and would take them to heart. Then she would dedicate herself to 
solving their individual cases while simultaneously looking for a 
systemic solution to save others the same aggravation. To say that 
Angel was relentless in finding answers to difficult problems is an 
understatement. She aggressively worked for each and every 
Mississippian. She became so proficient in her responsibilities, other 
congressional staffers, and even some of our colleagues, would often 
seek her advice.
  Angel had several hats and one vital job was that of providing 
excellent legal advice to everyone in the office. In a time frame when 
many large legal matters were being considered, like the confirmation 
of judges to tort reform to class action reforms, the staff needed and 
valued her wisdom. She could clearly explain the law and the bill's 
provisions in ways that were understandable. She was there to teach and 
lead the staff.
  Angel started as one of my staff assistants, but she quickly moved up 
the ladder to become the director of my special projects. There she 
also had direct responsibility for a wide range of appropriation 
matters that affect all facets of Mississippi's life. She was a leader 
with a steady confident managerial style that was accepted by our new 
and young staffers. She rapidly molded them into experienced staffers 
who became effective surefooted Mississippi advocates who helped 
``shepherd'' hundreds of millions of infrastructure and business 
investments dollars into Mississippi.
  Angel looked beyond constituent complaints and appropriation issues, 
that were important, and also devoted time to a much larger problem 
area, the root of many of the constituent challenges. She helped create 
a long term program for economic development and creating 
transportation, communication, technology infrastructure solutions for 
Mississippi. She ensured that these projects, both big and small, were 
both sustainable and cordinated with the State government. She ensured 
that no corner of the State was ignored and she was always looking for 
ways to leverage an idea into reinforcing the existing economic 
development aspects of Mississippi's marketplace. This was especially 
challenging because of the dynamics of the State, but because Angel was 
trusted by numerous local officials and she got it done. In this 
capacity she made many lasting tangible contributions that ``will 
positively affect Mississippi for decades to come. There are many 
Mississippians who have jobs because of her vision and stick-to-it-
ness.

  It is simply not possible to point out all of the contributions Angel 
made to Mississippi, but I would like to highlight three of the major 
ones.
  First, let me mention I-69. This interstate highway, which will 
eventually connect the United States with Canada and Mexico, will run 
through Mississippi in DeSoto County and the Delta because of Angel's 
focused hard work and determination. Many folks said I-69 would never 
be built. Boy, did she prove these naysayers wrong. She helped secure 
over $100 million for the Greenville Bridge over the Mississippi River 
and the first segments of this interstate are currently under 
construction in DeSoto and Tunica Counties. I-69 will provide the 
impoverished Mississippi Delta with the opportunity to market itself to 
companies around the world and hopefully this region of our State can 
take its place in the new global economy with this infrastructure.
  Second, let me mention the Nissan Plant. Many were involved in 
getting the company to decide on Mississippi and many had the grad 
ideas, but Angel was part of a small cadre of folks who turned the 
ideas into reality by knocking down the bureaucratic, regulatory 
barriers to make the idea a reality. Eighteen months after the 
announcement, the field I would I drive past in Canton is now a 
bustling factory producing quality vehicles driven and loved by 
thousands of Americans. We can thank Angel for her tireless work behind 
the scenes on one of the largest economic development projects in the 
United States in recent years. The new Nissan plant represents 
approximately $950 million in direct investment and almost 4,000 new 
jobs for the people of Mississippi. These numbers do not include the 
countless spin-offs and suppliers which have been needed for such a 
massive undertaking. Nissan's positive ripple effect on the Mississippi 
economy will be felt for decades to come.
  Finally, let me mention Angel's instrumental role in securing 
millions of dollars for Mississippi transportation projects such as the 
Canal Road Connector, improving Mississippi's formula for receipt of 
highway funds, and for retaining existing jobs at the Babcock & Wilcox 
plant in West Point, MS.
  These are just a few of the things that Angel Campbell has been 
involved with during her tenure with me. I know everyone will miss 
seeing Angel on a regular basis and I will miss her work, her spunk and 
her good cheer and humor. She has been a valuable asset to me and 
trusted advisor. Everyone in the office benefited from her energy and 
enjoyed her company.
  It saddens me to see Angel depart my staff, yet I fully understand 
the priorities of her family. I respect her desire to watch her 
children grow. Her husband and children have many reasons to be proud 
of her work her in the Senate for nearly a decade. She made a 
Mississippi difference, a difference that will be seen and felt for the 
next decade. I will be forever grateful for her loyal service and 
dedication to me, and to the State of Mississippi. I wish Angel 
Campbell good luck and pray God may continue to richly bless her and 
her family.

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