[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMENDING JOHN TWITTY OF SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILLY LONG

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 5, 2011

  Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of one of 
Missouri's finest leaders and my personal friend, John Twitty.
  John is an icon in the 7th District. He's provided Springfield, 
Missouri with affordable electricity, inexpensive natural gas, and 
clean drinking water for almost a decade as the General Manager and 
Chief Executive Officer of City Utilities. You would be hard-pressed to 
find a better leader with more integrity, which is evidenced by the 
high regard in which he is held throughout the city of Springfield, the 
State of Missouri, and across the country.
  Whether he is dealing with employees, the general public, or 
community leaders, John maintains his professionalism and character. He 
sincerely cares for each one of the employees at City Utilities and for 
the entire Springfield community.
  I am just one of many in the community that recognizes John as an 
outstanding leader. For his national leadership, he received the 
American Public Power Association's Alex Radin Distinguished Service 
Award--its top honor. He has also served as their Chairman. For his 
statewide leadership, he received the Missouri Association of Municipal 
Utilities Distinguished Service Award. For his contribution to Missouri 
and the nation, he received the Missourian Award and the Outstanding 
Missourian Award from the Missouri House of Representatives and the 
Missouri Senate.
  John has also been very active in the Springfield community. Although 
he would be the last to say so himself, John has given much to 
Springfield through his outreach and involvement in community 
organizations. He has worked with the United Way of the Ozarks, the 
Springfield Business and Development Corporation, the Partnership 
Industrial Center West Administrative Council, St. John's Health 
System, Empire Bank, the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, the Boys 
& Girls Town of Missouri, and other local organizations.
  John will retire this June. No doubt, he will enjoy spending more 
time playing golf and with his family. John's family includes his wife, 
Jean, a retired Greene Country Assessor and current member of the 
Springfield Public Schools Board of Education, and his daughter, Dr. 
Anne S. Twitty, an Assistant Professor of History at the University of 
Mississippi.
  Although John is about to embark on a much-deserved leave of absence, 
his legacy will live on whenever a family cooks dinner using low-cost 
electricity or when children drink clean water from a school water 
fountain. He has faithfully performed the duty shared by all public 
servants; he left the institutions in his care stronger and better for 
the next generation. Let us all draw humility and purpose from his 
example.

                          ____________________