[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE WORK OF CHIEF VERNON A. LOSH II

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 19, 2008

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, 
Congressman Mike Thompson, to honor Chief Vernon A. Losh II, who is 
retiring this month as chief/department director of the Sonoma County 
Department of Emergency Services. He has held the position since June 
1999, and also served concurrently for over 5 years as fire chief of 
Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District.
  Chief Losh has had a long and distinguished career in fire and 
emergency services, starting in 1974 with the South Placer Fire 
Protection District where he eventually held every rank from volunteer 
firefighter to full-time battalion chief. He came to Sonoma County in 
1995 as deputy chief/fire marshal for the Department of Emergency 
Services and became chief a few years later with responsibility for all 
aspects of the department's work. He deftly managed 23 full-time 
employees, over 350 volunteers, and a budget of $7.5 million.
  With extensive education in emergency management, including being one 
of the first twelve people certified in the State of California as a 
fire chief, Chief Losh has shared his expertise for years as a 
community college fire service instructor and also as chair of the 
Santa Rosa Community College Fire Tech Advisory Committee. A long list 
of professional affiliations--from local to international--are a 
testament to both his spirit of community volunteerism and the high 
regard with which he is held by his peers. He has been president of the 
Sonoma County Fire Chiefs Association, Sonoma County Department Heads 
Association, and the Northern California Firefighters Association, to 
name a few.
  Shortly after the anthrax and 911 terrorist attacks on our country, 
we met with Vern Losh and other Sonoma County officials. We were 
particularly impressed by the level of emergency preparedness as well 
as by plans to continuously upgrade and improve equipment and 
procedures. These efforts, directed by a coordinated leadership effort, 
clearly paid off when much of the county was affected by severe 
flooding a few years ago. The response was swift and organized, 
mitigating what could have been a serious disaster.
  The Losh family is also a source of pride to Vern. His wife Teresa is 
an accountant at the Sonoma County Office of Education and marathon 
walker for several charitable causes; his son Allen is a specialist in 
the Army serving as a combat medic ready to be deployed to Iraq on 
Thanksgiving Day; his daughter Whitney is a student at San Francisco 
State in the public health field. Whitney just finished her first 
marathon for Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
  Perhaps since, as his biography states, he ``currently serves as the 
Grand Emperor of the Cosmic Order of Fire Gods, an honor he has held 
since birth,'' Vern Losh won't fully retire. He plans to continue as 
chair of the Sonoma-Mendocino Red Cross, chair of the Volunteer Fire 
Fighter Committee of the California State Fire Fighters Association, 
and as the California representative to the National Volunteer Fire 
Council. He will also become a volunteer firefighter for the City of 
Healdsburg. And he will continue his teaching at the California 
Community College.
  Madam Speaker, Sonoma County will miss the skills of Chief Vernon 
Losh, but we thank him for helping to make our emergency services 
strong. We know he will appreciate having time for his family and his 
hobbies--photography, football and all sports, attending Giants and 
49er games, and firefighting.

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