[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 10 (Thursday, January 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MR. TONY HOUSEMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEVIN BRADY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 18, 2007

  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Tony 
Houseman for his continued conservation efforts and his dedicated 
service to the Houston Safari Club. Tony has been a member of the 
Houston Safari Club for over twenty years and has served as the Club's 
Convention Chair in 1996 and the President from 1997-1998. He also has 
been awarded three distinguished awards from the Houston Safari Club 
with the 1998 Conservation Award, the 2005 Lifetime Service Award, and 
the 2007 Frank Green Award.
  His tireless leadership has had a positive impact in Texas and across 
our nation. When Tony and Ray Petty were asked by Congressman Jack 
Fields to help organize and start the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, 
which I am a proud member, he never hesitated in saying yes. Every 
year, for ten straight years, they traveled to Washington D.C. to 
increase the membership and clout of the Caucus and help fight for the 
rights of the hunter and the hunting community. Now, the Congressional 
Sportsmen's Caucus has one of the highest memberships and continues to 
advocate the interests of sportsmen.
  Tony also has taken a leadership role in too many projects to list, 
with notable ones being Operation Bright Lights and the Tony Houseman 
State Park and Wildlife Management Area. Operation Bright Lights raises 
funds and works with professional hunters to build schools and water 
wells in Tanzania, and recently he and his wife Gisela took a trip 
there and visited one of the newly built schools. For the state park, 
Tony donated 1,500 acres to conserve the Blue Elbow Swamp in South East 
Texas. This 3,300 acre conservation site on the Sabine River remains a 
magical place for wildlife.
  Madam Speaker, Tony Houseman is the consummate hunter and 
conservationist and a friend I deeply admire. Thank you for helping me 
honor him today.

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