[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR RICHARD SKLAR

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 9, 2009

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of Richard Sklar . . . Ambassador, engineer, business leader, 
innovator, dispute mediator, professor, negotiator's negotiator, civic 
leader and public servant, winemaker, NFL fan, loyal friend to so many 
and most importantly, exceedingly proud husband, father and 
grandfather.
  Dick Sklar passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74 on 
January 20, 2009, at his home in San Francisco after watching with 
great satisfaction President Obama's Inauguration with his beloved wife 
Barbara by his side. Touchingly, his hometown newspaper, the San 
Francisco Chronicle noted, ``his death came the day after he received 
the highest noncitizen medal of honor from the Republic of Montenegro, 
for his role in helping the new country achieve independence.''
  Dick is survived by his wife Barbara, his daughters Pamela Ball of 
San Francisco, Karen Wong King of Santa Rosa, sons Mark Sklar of 
Phoenix and Eric Sklar of St. Helena, eight beautiful grandchildren, 
son-in-law John Ball and daughters-in-law Erica and Marilyn Sklar. Dick 
was born on November 18, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was an 
engineer and his family moved often while he was a young man. He was a 
graduate of Cornell University earning both a Bachelor's and Master's 
Degrees in Engineering.
  After serving in the United States Army, Dick founded and sold his 
first business, Allied Steel and Tractor Corporation, a Cleveland Ohio 
based manufacturing company. Cleveland is where he met the love of his 
life Barbara who is recognized in her own right as a brilliant artist 
and a civic leader.
  Dick Sklar was a friend and a mentor to many in public service, from 
Mayors to Governors to Members of Congress to Presidents. In 1976, 
Mayor Moscone recruited him to San Francisco to oversee the $1.5 
billion sewer and wastewater treatment plant program and the Yerba 
Buena Center known as the Moscone Center. At the time Dick began his 
service to the City, it was under a building ban for non-performance. 
Senator Feinstein (then Mayor of San Francisco) appointed him to head 
the Public Utilities Commission. He was exceptionally successful in 
these projects and became known world wide as a leader who was 
pragmatic and fair, and who set aside bureaucratic nonsense, 
challenging those around him to think practically and strive for 
excellence and innovation in everything they did. Dick's projects 
consistently came in under budget and ahead of schedule.
  From 1983 to 1996, Dick served as President of O'Brien Kreitzberg and 
Associates (OKA). He developed the first integrated program management 
system now used industry-wide to track spending, measure progress and 
improve accountability on public construction projects. During his 
tenure with OKA, the company built ten airports, light rail lines in 
major cities in the U.S. and facilities for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
  In 1996, President Clinton wisely turned to Dick Sklar for help and 
appointed him first as Special Representative to the President in 
Bosnia after the Dayton Peace Accords. He then appointed him an 
Ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1999 and lastly as 
Special Representative of the President for the Southeast Europe 
Initiative from 1999 to 2001. Dick led the postwar economic recovery 
effort in the Balkans in coordination with the World Bank, 
International Monetary Fund and the European Union, focusing on 
industries critical to establishing a market economy to encourage 
investment.
  After five years in Europe, Dick and Barbara came home to the Bay 
Area in 2001 and this time it was the Governor of California, Gray 
Davis, who needed his expertise to help with California's energy 
crisis. Dick expedited construction of new power-generating facilities 
and helped keep the lights on for California. In recent years he 
consulted with transportation, engineering and construction firms in 
California and served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of 
Montenegro.
  Dick Sklar was also known for his love of fine foods. He knew the 
menus of great restaurants around the world and could turn out great 
culinary delights out of his own kitchen. Scores of friends dined at 
his table in San Francisco, at his beloved home in the vineyard in 
Rutherford and at tables of restaurants around the world.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me 
in honoring the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Richard Sklar 
and extend our sympathy to the family he loved so much. His decades of 
contributions to his community and his country stand as lasting 
legacies of a life lived well. How privileged I am to have known this 
magnificent man and to have had him as one of my dearest friends. He 
made our world better by contributing to it in unique ways with an 
unmatched passion for justice, integrity and decency. Those of us who 
knew him and loved him will miss him deeply all the days of our lives, 
and his life instructs each of us on what it means to be a true 
patriot.

                          ____________________