[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 30 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  HONORING THE LIFE OF DAVID N. BODDIE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DONNA F. EDWARDS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 2012

  Ms. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute and honor the life of 
David N. Boddie, a resident of Bowie in the Fourth Congressional 
District of Maryland, who passed away on February 16th. As he is 
interred at Arlington National Cemetery today, I want to remember the 
legacy he leaves behind.
  For more than 40 years, Dave--as he was affectionately known to his 
colleagues--was an employee of the U.S. Government Printing Office 
(GPO), which supplies us with the Congressional Record and the 
documents to conduct the business of this House.
  Before arriving at the GPO, Dave Boddie served as a U.S. Marine in 
Vietnam, where he was seriously wounded in combat and received the 
Purple Heart. After returning home, he worked at the Afro-American 
Newspaper Company in Baltimore.
  Dave joined the GPO in 1970 as an apprentice and three years later 
was converted to a career employee. In 1976, he was promoted to a new 
position as a Photocomposition Machine Operator, taking his place 
within one of the greatest technology changes in the GPO's history, as 
the agency converted from hot metal typesetting to electronic 
photocomposition. Two years later, Dave entered the management and 
supervisory ranks at GPO, and he became a Foreperson in 1987. In August 
1999, Dave was named Foreperson-in-Charge, and in 2003, he was promoted 
to Assistant to the Production Manager, Night Operations, on the second 
shift. He continued to rise through the management ranks, becoming 
Printing Officer and Assistant Production Manager in December 2005.
  In 2006, Dave was named the third-shift Assistant Production Manager, 
effectively becoming GPO's Night Production Manager, with the key 
responsibility for ensuring the completion of the Congressional Record 
and other congressional work by morning. Dave was the first African 
American employee ever named to this position in GPO's 150-year history 
of service to Congress and this Nation. He retired from Federal service 
in 2011.
  Dave Boddie's record of service to our country, both as a Marine and 
through his accomplished career as a Federal employee at GPO, was 
characterized by sacrifice, by hard work and dedication to duty, and 
most of all by achievement, which was recognized by his promotions 
leading ultimately to one of the most critically important positions of 
leadership within GPO. He leaves behind a legacy of service that others 
can aspire to.
  Now that his time on earth has come to an end, it is my hope that 
David N. Boddie has found the peace he has earned. On behalf of this 
House, I extend our sincere condolences to his wife, Kim and daughter 
Monica, and the thanks of a grateful Nation.

                          ____________________