[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 156 (Sunday, September 28, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2147-E2148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING DENNIS J. MAUFORT ON HIS RETIREMENT AS AREA DIRECTOR OF THE 
                      USDA IN THE UPPER PENINSULA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Sunday, September 28, 2008

  Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Dennis Maufort on 
his retirement from the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. 
Maufort will be retiring as Area Director for USDA in the Upper 
Peninsula after more than 37 years. I ask that you, Madam Speaker, and 
the entire U.S. House of Representatives, join me in honoring and 
thanking Dennis Maufort for his 37 years of service to our community, 
State, and country.
  Born and raised in Menominee, MI, Dennis Maufort is a native of 
Michigan's Upper Peninsula and has been proud to serve his fellow 
community members these many years. Dennis Maufort and his wife, Karen, 
have been married for 34 years. Together they have two wonderful 
children. Dennis was active in coaching minor league baseball for 4 
years and senior league baseball for 5 years in Gladstone while his 
children were young. He also served as his daughter's fifth and sixth 
grade basketball coach.
  Dennis Maufort graduated from Western Michigan University in 1971 
with a degree in agriculture and a minor in general business. He went 
to work for what was then called the USDA Farmers Home Administration 
in June 1971 as an Assistant County Supervisor in the Marquette County 
Office. He served the residents of Marquette, Dickinson, and Alger 
Counties, providing single-family home loans and working with area 
farmers to provide loan and grant assistance. Dennis moved to Escanaba 
in 1977 as Farmers Home Administration County Supervisor. When the 
District Office was created in 1978 in Escanaba, he became the District 
Director, supervising six county offices located in Escanaba, 
Marquette, Ewen, Sault Ste. Marie, Petoskey, and Alpena, MI.
  During the farm crisis in the 1980s, Mr. Maufort became involved in 
the Upper Peninsula Market Livestock recordkeeping project at the Upper 
Peninsula State Fair. Each person involved in 4-H who is raising an 
animal for sale at the fair must submit a record book for his or her 
livestock project documenting how the animal was raised and recording 
feed and maintenance cost for the animal. Dennis spearheaded the 
committee of employees who volunteered their time to review and 
analyzed the record books, interviewed the students, and awarded the 
ribbons. The committee consists of employees from USDA Rural 
Development, Farm Service Agency, and Farm Credit Services. Mr. Maufort 
has also served on the Dairy Science Advisory Council and as an advisor 
for the Rotational Grazing Project with Michigan State University.

[[Page E2148]]

  USDA Farmers Home Administration is now USDA Rural Development, and 
Mr. Maufort works out of the agency's office in Gladstone, MI. He has 
been instrumental in developing a working relationship between the 
Native American Tribes in the Upper Peninsula and USDA Rural 
Development. The Gladstone Office processed the first Tribal Loan in 
the State of Michigan because of Mr. Maufort's personal dedication to 
the application.
  Dennis Maufort has been a tremendous asset to the Upper Peninsula and 
all of Michigan over the course of his 37 years with USDA. He processed 
the first USDA loan for a Michigan hospital in the 1970s at Munising 
Memorial Hospital, and he also was instrumental in coordinating the 
first Hydroelectric Power Loan in Norway, MI, in the early 1980s. More 
recently Mr. Maufort worked with the County Board for Keweenaw County 
in providing assistance for the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Cooper 
Harbor, MI. Mr. Maufort also worked with the city of Houghton to obtain 
a loan for the Houghton Public Library which overlooks the estuary in 
Houghton and provides services for the entire county. These are just a 
few of Dennis Maufort's many accomplishments since he started working 
at USDA.
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Maufort has been a vital asset to USDA Rural 
Development during his career. His contact with the communities he has 
served has increased the quality of life for countless citizens in 
Michigan. I ask that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives 
join me in congratulating Dennis Maufort on a job well done and in 
wishing him well in his retirement.

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