[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2021-E2022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE HONORABLE BUD CRAMER AND THE HONORABLE TERRY EVERETT ON 
                     THEIR RETIREMENT FROM CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 24, 2008

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request to include 
the accompanying article in the Congressional Record to supplement my 
remarks which were entered during the Special Order in honor of two 
Members of the Alabama delegation who are retiring.

              [From the Dothan Magazine, March/April 2008]

Man of the House--Congressman Terry Everett, Dothan's voice in the US. 
House of Representatives, Earned Respect from all Sides as an Honorable 
Legislator During his Sixteen years in Washington, DC. Now He's Coming 
                                  Home

                            (By Ann Varnum)

       Congressman Terry Everett recently shared a laugh with the 
     audience at a luncheon for the Dothan Area Chamber of 
     Commerce. Back in 1992 when he started his campaign for 
     Congress, the polls indicated that he only had four-percent 
     name recognition throughout Southeast Alabama. That fact was 
     made no less comforting by his lovely wife, Barbara, who was 
     quick to point out that the poll had a plus or minus accuracy 
     rating of four percent, so Terry's true name recognition 
     actually fell within the margin of error.
       Of course, that was sixteen years ago, and all of that has 
     radically changed. Terry Everett has become one of the most 
     respected congressmen on Capitol Hill. One of the reasons for 
     this is his innate ability to reach across the aisle and make 
     friends even though the opposite side most certainly had 
     completely different viewpoints from his own. He has earned 
     the greatest respect from Republicans and Democrats alike.
       During his almost sixteen years in Congress to date, 
     Representative Everett has been known as an honest legislator 
     and true gentleman. Reading through transcripts of the House 
     Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces hearing from 
     May of 2007, it is quite evident how much Congressman Everett 
     is respected by his colleagues.
       California Democrat Representative Ellen Tauscher, the 
     chairwoman of the subcommittee, opened the legislative 
     hearing by referring to Everett's prior service: ``I'd like 
     to begin by saying it has been an absolute pleasure crafting 
     this mark with my friend, Mr. Everett . . . He has been both 
     cooperative and straightforward. Thank you very sincerely, 
     Mr. Everett.''
       In 2001, when Representative Joseph Moakley, a Democrat 
     from Massachusetts, died, a special memorial was held in the 
     House Chambers. Democrat Representative Richard Neal, also 
     from Massachusetts, remarked that Moakley was ``. . . an old 
     school Democrat. But do you know who he liked to have dinner 
     with? This is going to kill them in Alabama when they find 
     this out, the voters down there--Sonny Callahan, Terry 
     Everett--that was the group he assembled with after hours. He 
     enjoyed their company socially and loved their stories about 
     Alabama and how they had come to Washington.''
       There is no doubt that Everett had a gift of making friends 
     out of even total political opponents. He never wavered from 
     his ideals

[[Page E2022]]

     and conservative viewpoint, but it never interfered with 
     making friends.
       Perhaps his outstanding record in Congress had been forged 
     earlier by the many roles Everett played in other areas of 
     achievement before launching his political career.
       Terry Everett was born February 15, 1937, in Dothan but 
     grew up in Midland City. After high school, Terry served in 
     the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence analyst in Europe in 
     1955. After serving his country in the military, Everett 
     returned to Dothan in 1959 to embark on the career that would 
     dominate more than half of his life--journalism.
       He began as a farm and police beat reporter and sports 
     writer for The Dothan Eagle. He would later achieve success 
     as editor, publisher and finally owner of a chain of hometown 
     newspapers, which he sold in the late 1980's. Terry Everett's 
     first elected position was not in public office, but rather 
     as President and Chairman of the Board of the Alabama Press 
     Association. While a local newspaper publisher, the 
     Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) at Fort Rucker twice 
     nominated him for ``Army Civilian of the Year.'' Yet many 
     would say the greatest milestone was not related to 
     journalism or politics.
       On December 16, 1965, Terry Everett's life was about to 
     take on a brand new dimension. A mutual friend, Jeanette 
     Comstock, introduced Terry to a bright, energetic young woman 
     named Barbara.
       After the couple started dating, Barbara and her parents 
     were surprised to learn that Terry had decided to leave his 
     job at The Dothan Eagle and start his own newspaper business. 
     Convinced he was making a huge mistake, Barbara admits that 
     she was a little upset about his plans. ``At that time,'' she 
     says, ``I didn't know Terry well enough to know that when he 
     said he was going to do something, he already knew how he 
     would do it.'' On October 18, 1969, the Everetts were married 
     at Cloverdale Baptist Church in Dothan.
       ``Over the years, Terry has shocked me with several other 
     total-change-of-life declarations, and for some reason, it 
     has always been a surprise to me. I, at least, eventually 
     learned to expect that he would be successful. He started the 
     newspaper and I worked beside him, learning the newspaper 
     business from scratch. During the long hours of work, I 
     learned to trust, respect and eventually love this shy man of 
     few words,'' says Barbara.
       The two continued to work side by side until there was 
     another event that again radically changed the direction of 
     their lives.
       Barbara explains, ``One evening in early 1992, Terry and I 
     were watching the six o'clock news when Congressman Bill 
     Dickinson made the announcement that after holding Alabama's 
     Second Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of 
     Representatives for twenty-eight years, he was retiring. 
     Afterwards, Terry turned the television off and looked at me 
     and said, ``I am going to run for Congress.'' Although I knew 
     Terry was very knowledgeable about government, the history of 
     politics, and current events from his years of newspaper 
     experience, I had never heard him say he had any desire to 
     run for office himself. Unfortunately, my first comment was, 
     `Who will vote for you?'
       Since both Terry and Barbara really were committed, first 
     to each other, and second, to a deep love for our country, 
     the first ``Everett for Congress'' campaign was begun. 
     Terry's first political slogan was ``Send a message not a 
     politician!'' Barbara believes it is still what he believes 
     after all these years. It was late in the evening when 
     Everett answered a phone call telling him all the votes were 
     in and counted. Terry Everett was declared the new 
     Congressman for Congressional District Two.
       Both Everetts admit that there are challenges and rewards 
     every day for people involved in holding a public office. 
     Barbara says with all the peaks and valleys, the rewards far 
     outweigh the difficulties. Having the support of people from 
     southeast Alabama who say they love and respect Terry Everett 
     and that they are praying for him every day is truly 
     appreciated.
       In early 2000, Barbara was diagnosed with breast cancer. 
     Because Terry wanted to be with her during her treatment, the 
     couple decided to have her surgery at Johns Hopkins in 
     Baltimore, Maryland, which was only forty-five minutes away 
     from the Everett's home in Washington. In March of 2000, 
     while undergoing all of her procedures, hundreds of cards, 
     phone calls, letters and gifts poured in to support 
     Congressman and Mrs. Everett. One obvious fact was that so 
     much of the concern was expressed from the liberal side of 
     the political spectrum, showing the positive impact the 
     Everett's had on their colleagues in Congress.
       When asked about her life with Terry Everett, Barbara 
     confides, ``From the day we met until today I don't think 
     Terry has changed one bit. If he tells you something, he will 
     keep his word. If you believe in something, he respects you 
     for it whether he agrees or not. He is the personification of 
     a true public servant and statesman. I hope that, more than 
     anything else, this will be the legacy for which he will be 
     remembered.''
       Four years ago this August, Terry Everett had a bad case of 
     shingles. Because of this, the nerves in his foot have been 
     severely damaged so that he has suffered difficulty in 
     walking. Even though Everett admits he is in good health, 
     traveling back and forth from D.C. is becoming more difficult 
     for him since he has the problem with walking. After 
     discussing it with his wife, Barbara, and his chief of staff 
     Wade Heck, Everett made the decision not to seek re-election 
     after his present term is completed.
       Mrs. Everett insists that she did not persuade her husband 
     one way or the other in his decision. She adds, ``The last 
     sixteen years have literally been a journey of joy, and we 
     are so honored and humbled to have been given this 
     opportunity. But Terry is wise enough to know that life is 
     made up of change and the time has come for our lives to 
     change once again on a new journey. I can't wait to see what 
     comes next. The only thing I can say with certainty is life 
     with Terry has never been boring.''
       The Everetts have lived in a beautiful new Southern farm 
     home on 400 acres of farmland near Rehobeth since 2001. 
     According to Barbara, there are still so many things that 
     need to be done around the house. Now, maybe they will have 
     more time to actually do all their special projects. Barbara 
     Everett herself stays busy working as Chairman of Governor 
     Bob Riley's Task Force to Strengthen Alabama Families. It has 
     the goal of restructuring the present Health and Human 
     Service System in Alabama in order to do the best possible 
     job of providing real help to Alabama's families.
       Joe Williams, Congressman Everett's staff member in the 
     Dothan office, says, ``Mrs. Everett is the Congressman's best 
     kept secret, though her dedicated work on so many community 
     issues over the years is hardly a secret anymore. Not only is 
     Mrs. Everett a capable leader in many causes, but she is 
     driven by a passion for those initiatives.''
       Both of the Everetts have genuine compassion, strength of 
     character, willingness to give of themselves in the service 
     of others and the ability to get things done in a timely 
     fashion. For all of that, Alabama's citizens of District Two 
     will be forever grateful.
       Here are some of Congressman Everett's key accomplishments 
     in office:
       First Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on 
     Strategic Forces (currently the Ranking Republican member)
       Authored the current federal peanut title in 2002 Farm Bill
       Secured $250 million for new Fort Rucker construction since 
     1993, including the landmark new Soldier Service Center, 
     Soldier Barracks, Post Headquarters, Base Family Housing 
     Renovation, and Warrior Hall Flight Simulator Facility
       Advocated Creation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Center 
     of Excellence at Ft. Rucker and the funding for the U.S. Army 
     Flight School XXI
       Secured over $40 million since 1993 for Dothan I-10 
     Connector project
       Secured $2.5 million in 2001 to modernize Dothan Regional 
     Airport runway, taxiway, remove old terminal
       Secured $202,000 in federal funds in 2003 for Multi-Purpose 
     Arena at National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds
       Secured $19.2 million in federal funding to rebuild the 
     Elba and Geneva levees
       Secured ``Free Trade Zone'' designations to reduce import-
     export costs for Dothan industrial areas, including the Sony 
     plant.

                          ____________________