[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 21 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO COACH GENE BESS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JO ANN EMERSON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2006

  Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishment 
of Three Rivers Community College basketball coach Gene Bess. Coach 
Bess is a fixture of the southern Missouri community of Poplar Bluff 
and a legend of college basketball coaching. This season, he will 
accomplish a tremendous feat for a coach in any sport at any level: 
Coach Bess will win his 1,000th game.
  Three Rivers Community College is lucky to have a great coach--a 
model of perseverance and service. In Coach Bess, the Three Rivers 
Raiders have a mentor, a leader, and a friend to coach them both on and 
off the court. For southern Missouri, Coach Bess is more than an expert 
on basketball and leadership--he is a student of the game of life. He 
is also a reminder that accomplishing our goals requires planning, hard 
work and plenty of sacrifice. After notching 1,000 wins, Coach Bess has 
also become an expert on sportsmanship. His players are instructed in 
the art of fair play right along with the other fundamentals of the 
game.
  Most remarkable about Coach Bess to me and to many is that the 
basketball team is not the first priority in his life. He is proud of 
the fact that his faith and his family always come before his work. 
This is just one secret of his success.
  But today I join with Coach Bess's family, his friends, his 
colleagues at Three Rivers, the hundreds of young men who have played 
on his teams, and the proud fans of the Eighth Congressional District 
to congratulate Coach Bess on achieving a rare milestone. In his long 
tenure as coach of the Three Rivers Raiders, Coach Bess has never had a 
losing season. His 1,000th victory marks a record that is unsurpassed 
at any level.
  We are proud of this tradition, proud of this record, and most proud 
of Coach Bess.

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