[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 1, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S4168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO TESSA SHUMWAY

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I would like to recognize Tessa 
Shumway of Terry, MT--this year's winner of the National Disaster 
Response Preparedness Award from the American Red Cross. Tessa is from 
Terry, a small town in eastern Montana.
  In Montana, we are proud of our open spaces, of our outdoor heritage 
and our rural landscape. We didn't get the title ``Big Sky Country'' by 
filling our land with skyscrapers or high rises or byways. We are hard 
working, quiet people with the grit to build our lives on some of the 
most beautiful and rugged land on Earth. We are Montanans.
  Of course, living in Montana's rural communities can create some 
challenges. For folks in places like Ismay or Brockaway, when disaster 
strikes, the nearest help may be miles away. And that is where Tessa 
Shumway comes in. Tessa is the face of the Red Cross across 10 counties 
in eastern Montana. Her territory is larger than the entire State of 
Indiana.
  She is on call 24 hours a day, every day of the week. She is the 
local disaster chair, disaster instructor, preparedness trainer, 
volunteer recruiter and statewide disaster committee cochair. In 
addition to all this, Tessa holds a regular day job as a bartender at 
the American Legion in Terry.
  Tessa received the Disaster Response Preparedness Award not only for 
her years spent helping the folks of eastern Montana, but also for the 
new volunteers and Red Cross workers she has trained. It is impossible 
to know how many lives she has touched, how many people she has helped, 
simply by passing her knowledge on to others.
  I would like to congratulate Tessa, her husband Zane and two 
children, Josh and Katrina--as well as the folks of Terry, who have a 
true hero in their community.
  March of 2009 was a difficult month for Montanans. Several tragedies 
shook our State, from a deadly explosion in Bozeman to the tragic plane 
crash in Butte. Montana's Red Cross stepped up to help folks recover 
and rebuild. Tessa herself was on hand to help victims of the fire in 
Miles City and find shelter for folks displaced by dangerous winter 
storms.
  I believe service is one of the most honorable things a person can 
do. Whether it is service to one's community, State or country--service 
is the most noble of all human endeavors. That is why I would like to 
recognize Tessa Shumway as a Montana hero--a woman who has given so 
much of herself to her neighbors and to the people of our State. We are 
lucky to have her under the Big Sky and I am proud to call her a fellow 
Montanan.

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