[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 65 (Thursday, May 12, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H3225-H3226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JOHN SNIDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Walden) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WALDEN. For the past 12 years, John Snider of Medford, Oregon, 
has been my district director. He's decided to move on now to pursue 
other opportunities and other careers. But to me, he was more than just 
district director. He was my mentor, he was my partner, and always my 
friend.
  John Snider is a terrific man, a great fan of the Oregon Ducks, and 
he served three Members of Congress in this district as district 
director, including my most recent predecessor, Robert F. Smith.
  He was born and raised in Medford. His roots run deep in the Rogue 
Valley. He is a guy's guy. He is a terrific man.
  My current district office actually sits adjacent to the former 
Snider Dairy, which his family had and which is now part of downtown 
Medford.
  John and his wife, Candy, currently live in the Rogue Valley, and 
John's daughter, Robyn, lives up in Grants Pass.
  John graduated from St. Mary's High School and was its student body 
president. He graduated from the University of Oregon, and is a rabid, 
to say the least, Oregon Ducks fan. And my wife and I had the 
opportunity to be with John and Candy at the championship game in 
Arizona earlier this year. And among the 10,000 or 20,000 people at the 
reception ahead of time, we actually bumped into each other there, as 
fate would have it, and had a wonderful evening.
  John served our country as a member of the United States Coast Guard 
and as president of the Rotary Club of Medford, where his attendance 
always spiked when I was the speaker. He was always so busy, he never 
got to his own Rotary Club; so they always fined him extra heavily when 
I was there because then he was with me and they had their opportunity 
to get at him.
  John was my eyes and ears throughout the Second District, which is 
70,000 square miles of eastern, central, and southern Oregon. We, I 
think, have traveled in about every conveyance possible, from a wagon 
behind a tractor to jet engine aircraft, single engine aircraft, twin 
engine aircraft. We've traveled in those airplanes, small, chartered, 
with others on our staff who didn't fare as well as John and I. They 
turned a little green and white and had problems at times. John and I 
always sort of traveled through it.
  We have driven in snow and rain and ice and sleet, and everything we 
hear about postal officials, from one end of the district to the other. 
We have flown, we have driven, we have hiked, we have walked, we have 
been on boats and airplanes, and you name it.

                              {time}  1020

  And always at my side, John Snider. When the water was cut off to the 
Klamath Basin 10 years ago, John was there with me at the bucket 
brigade, where we took water symbolically out of Lake Ewuana and passed 
it through 15,000 people into the A Canal, symbolizing this horrible 
thing that the government had done to the farmers. That deeply affected 
all of us in the Second District, and especially John and me; and his 
commitment to those farmers and ranchers continues today, as does mine.
  When it came to saving the Medford Tanker Base so that firefighting 
aircraft could make their circle around the Rogue Valley quicker rather 
than being shoved out to another hour's flight away, John was there day 
and night working with Commissioner Walker and others to make sure we 
could preserve that firefighting base in Medford. And we did, and it's 
made an enormous difference in saving lives and property.
  When President Bush came out to both Applegate and Redmond, John was 
there helping organize the events ahead of time. And any of you who 
have been involved in a Presidential visit to your district, you know 
it happens quickly and you basically go 24/7, and things get changed in 
the middle of the night and requests come and go: We need a band; no, 
we don't need a band. We need a garrison-sized flag; no, we don't. John 
was there making sure it all happened.
  John has served as one of my most important advisers, and is 
passionate about issues related to water and timber, small business 
development, and the people. He is well-liked by everyone who has ever 
met or worked with John Snider. He was a true leader in our community 
and remains so today.
  So today, I rise to take the time in the House to honor and recognize 
my longtime--only until he decided to move on--district director, John 
Snider, to wish him and his wife Candy and John's daughter Robyn the 
very best in the years ahead.
  We look forward to continuing our friendship and to working together 
for the betterment of our great State of Oregon, and always to cheer on 
the Oregon Ducks.

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