[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 57 (Monday, May 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF MITCHELL MULAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 2, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, it is with both great 
sadness and a sense of great honor that I rise today, along with my 
colleague, Lynn Woolsey, to honor and pay tribute to Mitchell ``Mitch'' 
Mulas, of Sonoma, California, who passed away March 31, 2011 of 
complications following heart surgery.
  It is no exaggeration to say that Mitch Mulas was an icon in Sonoma 
County and a role model for generations of fire fighters, teachers and 
students, and farmers. He represented the best in community service and 
in devotion to his family.
  Mitch was born in 1928 in Sonoma, California, the son of an Italian 
immigrant father and a mother who survived the 1906 San Francisco 
earthquake. He met his wife, Nilda when he was 15 and she was 13. They 
had their first date three years later, and three years following that, 
they were married. Nilda was his partner, friend and soul mate and 
survives him in his passing.
  Mitch was a dairy farmer and a leader in the county's agricultural 
organizations. He joined the Farm Bureau after he graduated from high 
school and served as President from 1965-1967 and 1985-1986. He was 
inducted into the Sonoma County Farm Bureau Hall of Fame in 2002.
  He took a brief hiatus from leadership positions within the Farm 
Bureau to serve on the Sonoma Valley Unified School Board for 12 years 
from 1969 to 1981. His influence stretched from the classroom to the 
football field, where he anchored a favorite spot in the bleachers each 
season. Not only did he receive the district's ``Salute to Education'' 
award but the Sonoma Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame created 
the Mulas Family Recognition Award in his honor, which is presented 
annually to persons or businesses in the Sonoma Valley who have 
contributed time and resources to student athletes and coaches.
  Mitch was also the ``Chief,'' a title he wore with distinction and 
pride. In 1942, at the age 14, he helped his father start what later 
became the Shell-Vista Fire Protection District. He served first as a 
volunteer firefighter, was named Assistant Chief in 1955 and served in 
that position until he was named Chief in 1968. He served in that 
position until his death.
  Mr. Speaker, Mitch Mulas was a farmer, educator, activist and sports 
enthusiast who also protected his community for 69 years as a fire 
fighter. But above all else, he was a devoted family man who is 
survived by his wife, Nilda, four children, six grandchildren and two 
great grand children. An entire community mourns his passing, and it is 
appropriate that we honor him at this time.

                          ____________________