[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 133 (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF MR. JOE HUBBARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 2010

  Mr. COSTELLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to 
join me in recognizing the exemplary life of Mr. Joe Hubbard, a 
tireless advocate and dedicated servant for people in need.
  For 50 years in the East St. Louis community, Joe Hubbard has been 
the person that people turn to when they have nowhere else to turn. 
When a single mother needs shelter and food for her children; when a 
family has seen all their possessions destroyed in a fire; when an 
unemployed father has lost all hope of finding a job; or when an 
elderly person comes to the end of life with no family or friends to 
see them through their final days, there has been one response--call 
Joe Hubbard.
  Joe Hubbard learned about families in need the hard way. His father 
experienced a debilitating workplace injury when Joe was young, forcing 
his family into financial hardship and requiring them to accept 
assistance from others. No doubt this early experience, in concert with 
Joe's deep Christian faith and the example of some compassionate 
mentors, played a significant role in setting him on his life's mission 
of helping those less fortunate.
  As a young man, Joe became involved with the St. Vincent de Paul 
Society and began to expand his work with the poor through that 
organization. Realizing the need to provide an organizational 
foundation to capitalize on Joe's dedication and energy, the Catholic 
Diocese of Belleville began Catholic Urban Programs with Joe as 
Coordinator, a position he has held to this day.
  There are those who say that Joe Hubbard can accomplish more with one 
phone call than others could with a week's work. In the past 50 years, 
Joe has developed many contacts and knows how to pull the right 
resources together to solve a problem. But Joe Hubbard is not just a 
high-level administrator. Joe goes into the broken homes and squalid 
apartments to deliver assistance. He visits the sick and elderly and 
those in prison. He delivers the food and clothing to families. He 
holds the hands of people as they lay dying, listening to their final 
words and seeing to it that they are laid to rest with dignity.
  Joe Hubbard has received many accolades for the work he has done 
ministering to the poor and needy in his community but that has never 
been what drives him. Joe's faith, his family and many friends and 
service to his fellow man are important to him. Joe has been quoted, 
``When you are created in the image and likeness of God . . . We all 
have a common bond of love.'' This statement probably best explains 
what has kept Joe Hubbard doing God's work for his fellow man for these 
past 50 years.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in an expression of 
appreciation to Mr. Joe Hubbard for a lifetime of compassionate care 
and to wish him the very best in the future.

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