[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 9 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E57]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RECOGNIZING BARRETT BYRNES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 23, 2012

  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and 
recognize the life of Barrett Byrnes, a constituent and friend, who 
passed away on December 21, 2011. He was 59 years old.
  Barrett Byrnes was raised in Huntington and attended Harborfields 
High School in Greenlawn before going on to Farmingdale State College. 
While a student at Farmingdale, Barrett pitched for the baseball team 
and in 1972 had an ERA of 0.36, fifth in the country and a school 
record that stands to this day.
  Upon his graduation, Barrett followed in his father's footsteps and 
began training to become an air traffic controller. Ralph Byrnes was 
one of New York's first air traffic controllers at LaGuardia Airport.
  Barrett's career began at Duchess County Airport in Wappingers Falls, 
a small local airport. It ended at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, 
where he was a certified professional controller in the main tower for 
the final fourteen years of his career, retiring in 2008.
  Beyond his valuable work in the control tower, Barrett was also an 
active leader in the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, of 
which he was a charter member, and president/faculty representative of 
the JFK Tower chapter. As a safety advocate, Barrett served as an air 
safety investigator to the National Transportation Safety Board.
  It was through his commitment to legislative activism on behalf of 
his union that I came to know him, as he served as the face of the 
NATCA to the New York congressional delegation.
  Mr. Speaker, I mourn the passing and honor the memory of Barrett 
Byrnes. I wish to extend my heartfelt sorrow to his wife, Jacqueline 
Taylor, and the rest of Barrett's family.

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