[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 72 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1068-E1069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE LIFE OF MAYOR EMERITUS VINCE WHIBBS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2006

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart but also 
with a tremendous sense of pride that I rise today to recognize and 
remember a beacon for civil service, Mr. Vince Whibbs. Vince left us 
Tuesday, May 30th. He was 86 years old. Vince was an incredible man and 
his absence will leave a void in Pensacola that will not soon be 
filled. Vicki and I grieve with the rest of the area at the passing of 
such a pillar of society. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Anna, 
his wife of 63 years, their seven children, 26 grandchildren, and 22 
great grandchildren.
  Mr. Whibbs was a native of Buffalo, New York and attended the 
University of Buffalo before becoming an ``office boy'' for the Pontiac 
Motor Division of General Motors in 1940. As the Nation was in the 
grips of World War II, Vince left Pontiac to attend the Army Air Force 
Pilot Training where he became a fighter pilot and eventually became a 
flight instructor for the Army Air Corps.
  He left the military as a captain in 1946 and returned to the Pontiac 
Motor Division, rising to the position of zone manager. In 1958, 
Pensacola was unknowingly blessed when Vince moved his family to the 
area to take over a local Pontiac dealership.
  Friendly, outgoing, and charming, Vince had a love for Pensacola that 
was overshadowed only by his love of God, country, and family. He was 
constantly giving back to the community through his involvement in 
local organizations including the Chamber of Commerce, the Pensacola 
chapter of the Navy League, the Fiesta of Five Flags, the United Way, 
Rotary Club International, Junior Achievement and Project Alert.
  Mr. Whibbs also gave generously of his time, serving the community in 
multiple leadership roles, earnestly working to make Pensacola an even 
better place to live. In 1963, he was elected to the City Council where 
he served for two years. In 1974, he was selected to head the Pensacola 
Chamber of Commerce.
  In 1978, he was appointed to a two-year term as mayor of Pensacola 
but did such a great job that he ended up serving through June of 1991. 
Mayor Whibbs was Pensacola's longest-serving mayor and even after he 
left the position in 1991, maintained the title of mayor emeritus. 
During his tenure, Pensacola experienced tremendous growth including 
the building of the current City Hall, the expansion

[[Page E1069]]

and revitalization of the Pensacola Regional Airport, and the building 
of the new Pensacola Police Department.
  In 1991, Mayor Whibbs was honored on the House floor by Congressman 
Earl Hutto, who accurately described him by saying, ``Vince's real 
strengths lie in his basic. personality and his never-ending promotion 
of the city's goodwill. Vince Whibbs is known nationwide, and everyone 
who knows him breaks into a spontaneous smile when his name is 
mentioned. In other words, no one doesn't like Vince Whibbs.''
  The Pensacola News Journal stated that ``his mind worked so rapidly 
that his words tumbled out at you to the point that you'd want to call 
for backup. He spoke from a golden throat with a silver tongue, ever 
the diplomat representing Pensacola.''
  Vince was well known for a rapid-fire delivery of this speech he 
recited for visiting dignitaries:

       On behalf of our elected City Council, those 10 masterful 
     men who manage our magnificent municipality; and on behalf of 
     the chairman of our county commission and his four 
     commissioners who constantly deal with the changing, 
     challenging conditions of our county; and on behalf of our 
     wonderful people who populate the Northwest Florida area, it 
     is my privilege and pleasure as mayor to welcome you to 
     Pensacola, the western gate to the Sunshine State, where 
     thousands live the way millions wish they could, where the 
     warmth of our community comes not only from God's good 
     sunshine, but from the hearts of the people who live here. 
     Welcome to Pensacola, America's first place city and the 
     place where America began.

  Vince remained a champion for the Pensacola Bay Area all of the way 
up to his last moments. He passed after dressing for a television 
appearance to promote a proposed Community Maritime Park on the 
waterfront of downtown Pensacola. Vince campaigned endlessly for 
downtown redevelopment and was a staunch believer in making a good city 
a great place to work and live. His son Mark Whibbs put it best when he 
said about his father, ``He loved this city, and he became a big part 
of it from the moment he moved here. And he never stopped.''
  He was a friend of Pensacola, a friend of the military and a personal 
friend of mine. His enthusiasm was contagious, his integrity inspiring. 
Pensacola has lost a great man. Vince Whibbs will be sorely missed.

                          ____________________