[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 101 (Friday, July 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING ROBERT ``BOB'' GILBERT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2011

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor Robert 
``Bob'' Gilbert on being named the California State Fair 
``Agriculturist of the Year,'' and to thank him for his dedication to 
the agriculture community.
  Bob Gilbert was born November 7, 1923, in Oakdale in the home he now 
lives in. He attended Oakdale Elementary and High Schools. He is the 
only surviving child of Emma and Amos Lawrence Gilbert. He currently 
works full time and is Chairman of the Board of Directors of A. L. 
Gilbert Company which was established November 1st, 1892, 118 years 
ago, by his father; A. L. Gilbert. It is the oldest still-in-the-
family-business in Stanislaus County. A. L. Gilbert Company was 
inducted into the State of California Agricultural Heritage Club in 
2005.
  Bob was a freshman at Modesto Junior College on December 7, 1941. 
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he transferred to the University 
of California, Berkeley, and enrolled in the V-1 and V-12 Naval 
Programs. He received his commission from the United States Naval 
Reserve Mid-Shipman School at Northwestern University in Chicago at age 
20.
  After completing graduate school at the Naval Gun Factory in 
Washington, DC, he was assigned to duty on a new battle cruiser; the 
USS Guam, which was being commissioned in Philadelphia. This flag ship 
served in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th Pacific Fleets, and accepted the 
surrender of the Japanese in Korea in August of 1945. He returned to 
the United States on December 4, 1945, and married Beverly Stone on 
December 9th They spent seven months in New Jersey while the battle 
cruiser was being mothballed.
  Bob graduated from U. C. Berkeley under the G.I. Bill, receiving a B. 
S. in Agricultural Economics. In 1947 as a graduate student, he 
traveled over 4,000 miles covering the entire state of California. He 
spent seven days a week for six weeks with Professor Earl Storie, 
father of the Storie Soils Index, studying soil conditions which enable 
farmers to grow over 150 crops in California. He returned home in the 
fall of 1947, four months after his father died and joined the family 
business.
  Bob discovered that agriculture was lacking in price enhancing 
marketing programs so he became involved in ``END PRODUCT MARKETING.'' 
He has spent the last 60 years of his life as an advocate for 
agriculture. Over that time he worked building personal relationships 
with both industry and government on behalf of farmers and livestock 
producers, such as: California Department of Food and Agriculture, 
marketing and stabilization plans along with production cost studies; 
USDA and several Secretaries of Agriculture including Ezra Taft Benson, 
Earl Butz, Dick Lyng and Ann Veneman following trade policy, parity 
pricing and supply management programs; Food and Drug Administration; 
new drug applications, safety and efficacy; California Milk Advisory 
Board; allied industry support and awards; California and National 
Cattlemen's Marketing Committees--conducting extensive research 
studies; United States Congress, both House and Senate--working on key 
legislation and testifying in hearings; universities and research 
centers--throughout the United States; marketing research for Hershey 
Chocolate, 1962-1966--instrumental in their locating in California and 
Oakdale.
  Some honors received include: 1964 Honorary Farmer Degree from 
Modesto Junior College; State Fair Grange Agriculture Day for 
contributions to milk pooling legislation; Grand Marshall, Oakdale 
Rodeo Parade; Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship, although not a Rotarian; 
Western United Dairymen Award for Outstanding Support of California 
Dairy Farmers; 50 years of economic testimony at CDFA hearings; Oakdale 
Chamber of Commerce and City of Oakdale Lifetime Achievement Award; 
California Dairy Campaign Award for dedication, strong leadership and 
unselfish giving; National Ag Science Center--Received 2005 induction 
into the Agricultural Hall of Fame.
  Religious commitment: Served eight years on the Commission of 
Ministry for the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin; supportive and 
active in a wide cross-section of Christian churches to further 
ecumenical causes; has received many honors and awards from various 
religious orders and fraternal bodies.
  Bob has served on the Animal Science and Development Boards at the 
University of California, Davis. Currently, and for the past 18 years, 
he has also served on the prestigious Advisory Board of the College of 
Natural Resources and Environmental Science at the University of 
California, Berkeley.
  In 1992 on the 100th Anniversary of Oakdale High School, the ``Hall 
of Fame'' was established. Bob was among the first 10 graduates ever 
honored for Outstanding Achievements and Exceptional Service.
  Bob has traveled abroad extensively for the past 40 years, visiting 
over 90 countries, some many times, studying production and marketing 
agriculture as globalization has developed. This includes attending the 
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
  Bob's wife, Beverly, has been an integral part of all that he has 
done over the past 65 years. He continues to be a well-respected and 
active educator, business leader, patriot, politician, member of the 
laity, family man, student of and advocate for agriculture, and an 
exemplary citizen of the United States and the world.

                          ____________________