[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 44 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN TRIBUTE TO EARL McPHAIL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 14, 2008

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ventura County, 
California, Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail, who has the 
distinction of being the longest serving Agricultural Commissioner in 
the history of the State of California.
  Now, after 29 years of regulating Ventura County's agricultural 
industry, Earl has decided to retire. He leaves a large set of shoes to 
fill.
  In 2006, the value of agricultural products produced by Ventura 
County's 2,300 farms and ranches was more than $1.5 billion. That's an 
increase of more than $282 million from the previous year. The county's 
top three crops in 2006 were strawberries, nursery stock, and lemons.
  Earl and the 40 people who work for him enforce state and local 
regulations on pesticides, worker safety, and other agricultural 
issues, as well as inspecting flowers and produce for pests before 
they're shipped to other parts of the state and nation and 
internationally. It's a huge job with a tremendous economic impact for 
Ventura County, but Earl has always done it with a calmness that belies 
his tough resolve in protecting the industry and the industry's 
consumers.
  Earl is a native Southern Californian who graduated with a degree in 
agricultural biology from the California State Polytechnic University, 
Pomona, and is a graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership 
Program. He serves as president of the California Agricultural 
Commissioners/Sealers Association and is a member of the Ventura County 
Farm Bureau. He is a past member of the Ventura County Environmental 
Review Report Committee, Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee for 
National Association of Counties, the Ventura County Management 
Association Board of Directors, and the Santa Paula Future Farmers of 
America Advisory Committee.
  He is equally active outside the agricultural arena. He is an elder 
for the Santa Paula First Christian Church and chairman of its Board of 
Directors. Earl serves as a coach for the Saint Bonaventure High School 
Baseball League, and is a past member of the Boy Scouts of America, 
Troop 304, Advisory Committee and the National Association of 
Republican County Officials.
  In addition, Earl is past treasurer of the Santa Paula Little League, 
past president of the Santa Paula Rotary Club, past president of the 
Ventura County Fair, Board of Directors, and past chairman of the 
Ventura County 4H Sponsoring League.
  Earl has earned his retirement and we thank him for three decades of 
professionalism and dedication to an industry and community that has 
grown tremendously during his tenure. I have no doubt he will continue 
to serve the community and be an elder statesman for the industry.
  Madam Speaker, I know my colleagues will join me in wishing Earl and 
his wife, Willa, the best in the years ahead. Godspeed, my friend.

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