[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 135 (Friday, October 12, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RUTH WISNOM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 12, 2012

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ruth Wisnom, the most 
committed and altruistic volunteer I know. Ruth has dedicated her life 
to helping others and creating a better future for all of us.
  Ruth started volunteering with Peninsula Family Services 48 years 
ago, a testament to her perseverance and commitment. She and her 
husband David Wisnom have also passed on their passion for volunteering 
to their children and grandchildren.
  I commend Peninsula Family Service for honoring her with the Wisnom 
Family Award. The organization could not have chosen a more deserving 
family which exemplifies its mission to empower children, families and 
older adults to achieve and maintain self-sufficiency.
  Ruth grew up in Ontario, Oregon. She went to Ontario High School and 
received her B.A. in Speech and Hearing Therapy from the University of 
Oregon.
  From 1955 to 1957 she was the Assistant Director of the speech clinic 
at the May T. Morrison Rehabilitation Center in San Francisco. The 
following year she was a speech and reading consultant and English 
teacher at the Taipei American Schools in Taiwan.
  She used her speech therapy expertise to set up speech clinics at the 
Crippled Children's Society in Monterey County and at UCSF Medical 
Center.
  Since Ruth started volunteering for Peninsula Family Services--
formerly Family Service Agency--in 1964, she has served on many boards 
of directors and committees, including Family Service Agency 75th 
Anniversary, Biennial Family Service Agency International Conference in 
Detroit, Family Service America, Family Service Agency of San Mateo 
County and as president of San Mateo County's Hillsborough Auxiliary. 
She is still an active member of the auxiliary and established its 
popular annual travel auction in 1970. Ruth is an honorary lifetime 
board member of Peninsula Family Service.
  Ruth's service to the community includes other non profits--Peninsula 
Community Foundation, the Monterey County Symphony, and the San 
Francisco Opera Guild Board where she has been a tireless advocate for 
children's education and served as vice-president of fundraising. Her 
love for children is also evident in her work for the Avery Fuller 
Children's Center Foundation, the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew's and 
the Junior League of San Francisco and of the Monterey Peninsula, the 
Children's Home Society and the Crippled Children's Society.
  Ruth's love of flowers, especially roses, has driven her to support 
the Hillsborough Garden Club where she was president from 1995 to 1997 
and served on the Bay Area Steering Committee planning a weeklong 
flower, horticulture and ecology show.
  Her unwavering commitment and service to our community have been 
recognized with several volunteer of the year awards from different 
groups.
  Ruth and David are the parents of two children, David Wisnom, III and 
their late daughter Carol Wisnom Kastner who passed away in 2008. The 
garden at the Peninsula Service's Child Development Learning Center is 
named in her memory, ``Carol's Kinder Garden.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor an extraordinary human being who epitomizes inexhaustible 
generosity and kindness. Our community and the world is a better place 
because of Ruth Wisnom.

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