[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 186 (Friday, December 11, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2976-E2977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING CHEYENNE SPETZLER OF HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 11, 2009

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Cheyenne Spetzler, Chief Operations Officer of Open Door Community 
Health Centers, of Humboldt County, California. Ms. Spetzler has 
dedicated 30 years to providing quality health care for the people of 
Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.
  Beginning as a volunteer, Cheyenne has worked at all levels of Open 
Door Community Health Centers, ultimately becoming responsible for 
daily operations of the clinic system. Under her leadership, the 
original part-time clinic staffed by volunteers developed into a 
comprehensive network of nine licensed facilities and mobile medical 
programs throughout the two counties. Ms. Spetzler led the team 
responsible for the addition of the Del Norte Community Health Center 
in 1990, the Eureka Community Health Center in 1991 and the Burre 
Dental Center in Eureka in 2003.
  Today, the Open Door Community Health Centers provide medical, dental 
and mental health care to more than 40,000 individuals annually and 
employ a staff of more than 350. The Open Door network provides health 
care to approximately one-third of the total population from this large 
rural area the size of Connecticut, and is the largest safety-net 
provider in Northwestern California.
  Ms. Spetzler has served the people of California as a long time board 
member of the statewide Reproductive Health Association and as a member 
of numerous state and local associations and committees. She also 
continues to promote healthy living through her passion for sports, 
including the development of women's soccer at Humboldt State 
University, first as a club team and later as a fully intercollegiate 
women's soccer team.
  Cheyenne Spetzler is also a respected Mayan scholar who has taught 
Mayan Hieroglyphic Decipherment at the University of Texas at Austin 
and Humboldt State University in Arcata. She served as primary 
researcher for the NOVA television special ``Cracking the Maya Code'' 
released in 2008.
  Ms. Spetzler is a respected member of the community, highly regarded 
for her successful efforts to develop health care facilities, which 
meet community health care needs through their focus on health 
education, access to care and prevention.
  Madam Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we recognize 
Cheyenne Spetzler for her unwavering leadership and dedication to 
improving the health of California's North Coast communities.

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