[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 5, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JEAN OKUYE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 5, 2010

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and 
congratulate Jean Okuye upon being named as a 2010 Common Threads 
honoree. Mrs. Okuye will be honored by California State University, 
Fresno at the 2010 Common Threads Award luncheon to be held on Friday, 
April 16, 2010.
  Mrs. Jean Okuye grew up in Kelseyville, a small town in northern 
California, where she learned to love the outdoors and the natural 
world. She attended the University of California Santa Barbara and upon 
graduating, she traveled in Europe and Iran. As a young woman she 
married her husband Paul.
  In 1980, Mr. and Mrs. Okuye and their two children moved to 
Livingston, California to take over the family farm. After fifteen 
years of struggling to pay off the estate tax and other finances, they 
were able to make vast improvements to the farm and created a 
successful farming business. When Mr. Okuye passed away Mrs. Okuye took 
over the farming operation. Today, their daughter and her family have 
moved from France to live and work on the family farm. Mrs. Okuye's 
grandchildren are the fifth generation to be on their family farm.
  Mrs. Okuye has held several leadership roles in Merced County, she 
has been involved with the Board of the Livingston Farmers Association, 
Valley Land Alliance, Merced County Farm Bureau, Merced County 
Farmlands and Open Space Trust Council, California Women for 
Agriculture and an Ag Tourism organization for Merced County. She was 
also appointed to serve on the Merced County General Plan Update 
Committee. Mrs. Okuye plays the piano for United Methodist Church and 
chairs the Trustee Committee for the church. She participates on the 
boards of Stanislaus Memorial Society, Livingston Medical Group, Merced 
County Academic Decathlon and the Citizens Advisory Committee for 
Livingston City. For her efforts, Mrs. Okuye was named the 2007 
``Outstanding Individual'' in the Trees and Vines category from the 
Merced County Agri-Business Committee.
  Mrs. Okuye has a Bachelors Degree in organizational behavior and 
holds two teaching credentials, which she received at the age of fifty.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Jean Okuye 
upon her achievements. I invite my colleagues to join me in wishing 
Mrs. Okuye many years of continued success.

                          ____________________