[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 11 (Friday, January 19, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E157]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO ROBERT B. GILBERTSON, JR.

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                          HON. ADAM H. PUTNAM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 19, 2007

  Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Robert 
B. Gilbertson, Jr., the innovative leader of the Tampa Metropolitan 
Area YMCA. After more than 20 years with the Tampa YMCA, Bob is leaving 
Florida for Seattle in order to serve as the CEO of the YMCA of Greater 
Seattle.
  During his tenure, Bob, led an effort to greatly expand the Tampa 
YMCA by the creation of 12 new branches throughout Hillsborough County. 
The expansion effort has resulted in the YMCA membership growing from 
5,000 to 130,000 members and their yearly budget has grown from around 
$1,000,000 to over $33,000,000. More importantly, this expansion has 
provided the opportunity for the YMCA to expand its charitable mission 
of building strong kids, strong families and strong communities. No 
child or family is turned away from the YMCA due to their inability to 
pay. Today, scholarships are provided to over 30,000 children and 
families so they can enjoy one of the largest social service charitable 
organizations operating in Hillsborough County.
  I met with Bob recently at the Brandon Family YMCA where he 
introduced me to some very special children who were involved in the 
foster care system. I was proud to play a role in ensuring that the 
U.S. Department of Labor provided the Tampa YMCA with funding to create 
a job training program for youth aging-out of the foster system. This 
extremely important program will be one of Bob's lasting legacies in 
Tampa.
  Bob Gilbertson has certainly made his mark in Tampa and I am grateful 
for the leadership he has provided. I wish him great success as he 
moves to Seattle.

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