[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 24, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    TRIBUTE TO RICHARD KEITH SALICK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL POSEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 24, 2012

  Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Richard Keith 
Salick whose recent and sudden passing has left a hole in the hearts of 
the entire Space Coast community as well as surfing enthusiasts 
worldwide, lifelong friends, family, and those affected by kidney 
disease.
  Born October 6, 1949, Richard and his twin brother, Phil, learned to 
surf together in their early teenage years, traveling to exotic surfing 
hot spots around the world making a name for themselves and eventually 
both were invited to join Dewey Weber's California-based Surf Team. At 
that time, Dewey Weber's team had only a limited number of team members 
from the East Coast but it also consisted of the top surfers in the 
world.
  As Richard worked his way up the up the ladder, he earned a spot on 
the United States Surfing Team, was selected to join the World Contest 
Team and signed a contract with Hobie Surfboards. A short time later, 
at the age of 23, Richard fell ill and was told he needed a kidney 
transplant. Aided by his twin brother Phil, who was his first kidney 
donor, Richard recovered but was told all physical sports were out of 
the question--including surfing.
  After a year of recovery, Richard could no longer ignore his desire 
to return to competitive surfing. He was the first person to develop an 
``Ensolite'' padding system which he strapped around his abdomen to 
protect his transplanted kidney and went on to place second in his 
first competition. Richard continued to win surf contests and proudly 
displayed one of his trophies at the dialysis unit at Shands Hospital 
in Gainesville, Florida, inspiring other kidney patients.
  Richard continued to surf professionally and was dubbed by Nephrology 
News as ``the First Professional Athlete to Return to Active 
Competition after a Transplant.'' Upon retirement in 1980, Salick was 
ranked the Number 1 surfer on the East Coast in the 24-35 year old 
division. In 1985 Richard and his brother Phil co-founded the National 
Kidney Foundation Pro Am Surf Festival raising millions of dollars over 
the years. This festival is one of the largest charitable surfing 
events in the world.
  ``Richard Salick has received many prestigious awards over his 
lifetime including the ``Nancy Katin Award'' at the United States 
Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach, California. This award was 
given to one competitive surfer each year and voted on by all the 
worldwide surfing association presidents.
  ``Rich also built eleven-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater's 
first surf board in Cocoa Beach.
  Over the course of Richard's life, he endured a total of three kidney 
transplants all donated by his brothers Phil, Chan and Wilson. In 
January of 2000, Salick was inducted into the Surfing Hall of Fame as 
an ``East Coast Surfing Legend'' and was also inducted into the Black 
Belt Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2008 along with his son David. 
Besides being an accomplished surfer, inventor, inspirational speaker, 
and post transplant athlete, Richard would say that his greatest 
accomplishment was raising his two sons Philip and David, both world 
class athletes.
  Richard has personified the successes of extreme sports activity post 
transplant and has served as an inspiration to all he met including 
transplant patients around the world. He will be missed but his legacy 
and spirit will live on.

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