[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 192 (Wednesday, December 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2251-E2252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF SIMONE ``SAM'' SAVIA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2011

  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
life of Simone ``Sam'' Savia, who passed away peacefully on December 9, 
2011, surrounded by his beloved family, after seven decades of service 
to his local volunteer fire department.
  Sam, a lifelong resident of Vienna, Virginia, was born in the mid 
1920's. He grew up a few steps away from the original fire station in 
Vienna where he and his brothers were frequent visitors. In 1941, Sam, 
then 15, joined the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department (VVFD), which had 
lowered the age requirement to address a manpower shortage created when 
most of the town's young men had been called to serve in WWII.
  When Sam joined the VVFD, the town bore little resemblance to the 
bustling commercial and residential area it is today. There were no 
fire hydrants, as the town did not yet have water or sewer service, and 
the department's pumper truck would pull water from ponds, streams or 
one of the town's three cisterns. Sam recalled during an interview 
earlier this

[[Page E2252]]

year with the Fairfax Times that there was no county fire training 
academy in those days so he and his fellow volunteers learned the 
``hard way'' by trial and error on the job.
  Sam selflessly served on the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department for 70 
years. He held numerous leadership positions including Assistant 
Secretary, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, multiple terms as 
President, and multiple terms as a member of the Board of Directors. 
Responding to innumerable emergency calls over many decades, it is 
impossible to calculate the number of lives and properties he helped 
save. As a life member of the VVFD, Sam continued to actively perform 
various administrative jobs in the department after he retired from 
operational duty.
  Sam also contributed greatly to other community causes. In the early 
years of the station, the VVFD sponsored the Old Dominion Baseball 
League and Sam was instrumental in the construction of Waters Field. 
After the VVFD stopped sponsoring baseball, the Vienna Host Lions Club 
in 1954 called on Sam to organize little league baseball in the town. 
Sam set up the program, coached teams, and helped construct the 
necessary fields. The Jessup-Savia Field at Nottoway honors Sam in 
recognition to his tremendous contributions to little league and youth 
in Vienna.
  Sam also served as president of the Vienna Lions Club and on the 
Vienna Centennial Coordinating Committee. In recognition of his years 
of service to the community, Sam was named the 2006 Citizen of the Year 
by the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce.
  On July 25, 2011, the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department hosted a 
ceremony honoring Sam for his seven decades of service to the 
Department. During this ceremony, July 25, 2011 was proclaimed Sam 
Savia Day by the Town of Vienna in recognition of his contributions to 
the community, and the Commonwealth of Virginia followed suit by 
approving House Joint Resolution 5170 commending Sam for his service. 
The department also renamed its apparatus building the Sam Savia 
Apparatus Facility so future generations of firefighters and citizens 
in Vienna will remember this man who dedicated his life to public 
safety, his family, and his community.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me to celebrate the life 
and deeds of Sam Savia, and to express our deepest condolences to his 
wife Gertrude, their children, and their entire family.

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