[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 88 (Friday, June 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1395]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING FRED CORUM

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 12, 2009

  Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a gentleman who has 
left an impact on every county in Congressional District and touched 
the lives of everyone in East Tennessee, whether they may know it or 
not.
  Fred Corum exemplifies the concept of government and community 
service. As the Director of the Tennessee Department of 
Transportation's Region One, Fred has devoted a long career to the 
safety and quality-of-life of east Tennesseans.
  Fred is celebrating his much earned retirement today with a gift back 
to the people he served: the completion of SmartFix40. This project is 
the most expensive in state history, reconfiguring Interstate 40 as it 
crosses through downtown Knoxville. SmartFix40 is not a venture he took 
lightly.
  This massive project required the closure of Interstate 40--a main 
east to west coast corridor--for fourteen months. The night before the 
closure, Fred says he could not sleep, and there were plenty more 
sleepless nights to come. We can only hope that all government servants 
devote such care and commitment to their work.
  Every project Fred has overseen is a true testament to his character, 
and there was no one more qualified than him to lead the SmartFix40 
project. Fred has been on the job with the Tennessee Department of 
Transportation since 1954, a career that has spanned 53 years and 10 
Governors.
  As an entry-level worker in 1954, Fred planted stakes in the ground 
to mark the route of future roads for $150 a month. Eventually, he was 
promoted to maintenance supervisor for a large portion of my 
Congressional District, back in a time when there was a lot more snow 
to deal with. As his career spanned the 1980s, Fred witnessed the 
advent of the age of conservation, navigating water pollution issues, 
wildlife preservation, and erosion.
  Governor Lamar Alexander appointed Fred the Director of Region One in 
1985, and although he thought his job would be up at the end of the 
Governor's term, he was kept in the position through three more 
administrations.
  Today, decades after he drove his first stake into the ground, Fred 
is on hand for the reopening of Interstate 40 and the completion of 
SmartFix40. He goes out at the top of his game, leaving for all East 
Tennesseans a reconfigured, aesthetically pleasing, and modern stretch 
of highway.
  Fred's ascent through the ranks of the Tennessee Department of 
Transportation to Director of Region One is an example to all who enter 
government service. His wife, Loretta, their two sons, four 
grandchildren, and great-grandson have reason to be very proud.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to call the remarkable 
service of Fred Corum to the attention of my colleagues and other 
readers of the Record, and wish Fred a very happy retirement.

                          ____________________