[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 82 (Monday, June 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CONGRATULATIONS TO DR. RICHARD WALLINGFORD, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL H. MICHAUD

                                of maine

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 20, 2005

  Mr. MICHAUD. Mr. Speaker, doctors of optometry from around the nation 
will convene in Dallas, Texas, from June 22-26 for Optometry's Meeting, 
the American Optometric Association's 108th annual convention. On 
Saturday, June 25, they will elect Dr. Richard Wallingford, Jr. as the 
association's 84th president.
  Dr. Wallingford is a resident of Rockwood, Maine, on Moosehead Lake. 
He is a native son who has practiced optometry in our state for 30 
years. He is a graduate of the University of Maine at Orono and the 
College of Optometry at the State University of New York. He currently 
serves as Director of Clinical Services at Vision Care of Maine in 
Bangor.
  Dr. Wallingford has been a leader in his profession at the state, 
regional and national levels. He has been a member of the Maine 
Optometric Association since 1975, and served as president in 1982. He 
was appointed to the Maine Board of Optometry in 1989, and he served 
until 1999. He was also a member of the New England Council of 
Optometrists, and he currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the 
New England College of Optometry.
  At the national level, Dr. Wallingford has been a member of American 
Optometric Association (AOA) since 1971, and has served in the 
association's volunteer structure since 1983. He was elected to the AOA 
Board of Trustees in 1998 and was re-elected in 2001.
  Remarkably, Dr. Wallingford has maintained his hectic schedule while 
battling multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. Diagnosed with the 
disease in 2000, he began an aggressive treatment plan last year which 
included six rounds of chemotherapy and two stem cell transplants. In 
January, Dr. Wallingford received good news that the myeloma was in 
remission.
  In his community, Dr. Wallingford was elected to the board of Maine 
School Administrative District (MSAD) #67, where he served as chairman 
for two years. He was president of the Lincoln Rotary Club and chairman 
of the Lincoln Recreation Committee. He also coached youth baseball and 
basketball.
  In addition to his professional responsibilities, Dr. Wallingford is 
a devoted outdoorsman. He has been a member of the National Ski Patrol 
since 1989 and serves on the Squaw Mountain Ski Patrol. He is a 
licensed whitewater guide and has a land and sea rating as a licensed 
private pilot. Dr. Wallingford also owns and manages the Moosehead Lake 
Sporting Camps and Mt. Kineo Cabins.
  Dr. Wallingford and his wife Elaine have been married for 35 years 
and they have three children. Richard III is a physician and is 
completing his residency in psychiatry at Harvard University. Denise 
holds a Master's Degree from Boston College and is an elementary school 
teacher. Tiffany is a graduate student at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, 
California.
  The American Optometric Association is the professional society for 
optometrists nationwide and has more than 34,000 members. Dr. 
Wallingford will lead the association on its mission to improve eye and 
vision care in the United States.
  Dr. Richard Wallingford has built a distinguished record of service 
and leadership in his profession and in his community. I am confident 
that he will have a very successful term as president of the American 
Optometric Association. I join his family, friends and colleagues in 
congratulating him on this achievement and wishing him good luck and 
good health.

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