[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE ON THE RETIREMENT OF MR. ANTHONY ``BEN'' BORDA, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 10, 2008

  Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Anthony 
``Ben'' Borda, Jr. of Huntington, WV and his 36 years of service to the 
State and people of West Virginia. For the past 36 years, Mr. Borda has 
served in the Federal Government, 34 years with the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers and 2 years with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office 
of Surface Mining. Mr. Borda currently serves as the Acting Chief of 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Huntington District and New River 
Navigator for the New River American River Heritage Initiative and is 
now set to retire on January 2, 2009.
  Born and raised in Fairmont, West Virginia, Ben has devoted his life 
to protecting West Virginia's God-given natural resources. He earned a 
bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia 
University in 1972 and a Masters in Biological Science from Marshall 
University in 1994.
  For nearly four decades, Ben has been a godsend to the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineer's Huntington District, helping manage land and water 
usage, and has played a powerful role in dozens of district projects 
covering three states. From Landscape Architect to Acting Chief of the 
planning Branch, Ben has left his mark on virtually every aspect of the 
Huntington District and improved the lives of the people of southern 
West Virginia.
  Additionally, Ben is the longest serving New River Navigator in the 
country, having served for the past ten years as the Federal Liaison 
for the New River under the American Heritage Rivers Initiative. In 
this capacity, he has helped the New River Community Partners leverage 
millions of dollars in federal, state, local, and private funds to help 
bring economic, conservation and preservation, education, and 
transportation projects to the New River Area and was awarded the 
American Heritage Rivers Initiatives' Navigator Award in 2006 for his 
success.
  Ben's list of accomplishments far exceeds his years of service. His 
leadership and vision have been invaluable to the Huntington District 
of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and helped shape environmental 
policy across southern West Virginia. His dedication to his work and 
commitment to helping others are examples to us all.
  I again congratulate Ben for his 36 years of dedicated service to the 
State and people of West Virginia and wish him continued success in 
retirement and all his future endeavors.

                          ____________________