[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 164 (Monday, November 18, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S8088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSMAN DICK NICHOLS

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, last month I was at the World War II 
Memorial greeting a number of Kansans who had arrived on an Honor 
Flight, and I certainly want to pay tribute to each of our service men 
and women and veterans. What a great experience it was on a beautiful 
day at the memorial. One of those veterans is someone I wish to talk 
about this evening to my colleagues here in the Senate.
  Getting off the bus that day was my friend and a former Member of the 
U.S. House of Representatives for the Fifth Congressional District of 
Kansas, Dick Nichols. There are many things I admire about Kansans. 
Folks from my home State always look out for others. They commit their 
lives to helping and improving the lives of their communities, our 
State, and our Nation in order to make certain there is an even better 
opportunity for the next generation. Congressman Nichols is certainly 
one of those individuals. I wish to pay my regards to him today.
  Dick was born in Kansas, raised in Fort Scott, and served during 
World War II as an ensign in the U.S. Navy. After serving our Nation 
with great integrity and humility, he pursued and achieved a bachelor's 
degree in science from Kansas State University in 1951. Congressman 
Nichols is a supporter of education but particularly a supporter of 
education that comes from Kansas State University. He is a Wildcat 
through and through.
  Dick worked in a number of roles related to agriculture and banking 
in both the Topeka and Hutchinson communities in our State before he 
moved to McPherson--his home now. In McPherson, he began his career as 
a longtime community banker at the Home State Bank. He became president 
of that bank in 1969, and in 1986 he was elected to serve as president 
of the Kansas Bankers Association.
  That same year Dick got some national notoriety: He was stabbed on 
the Staten Island Ferry by a homeless refugee from Cuba while touring 
the Statue of Liberty. While recuperating in the hospital, he was 
visited by then-New York Mayor Ed Koch, who apologized on behalf of the 
city of New York for the event. He was also invited to the Johnny 
Carson show to tell of his experiences in New York City. But even 
during that particular event, what he said on the talk show and what he 
told Mayor Koch was that he always looked for the best in every person 
and in every situation.
  Dick continued as an active banker and served as the president and 
chairman of the board of his bank until he was elected to the U.S. 
Congress in 1990. Due to reapportionment in our State following the 
1990 census, his district, the Fifth District, was eliminated and we 
went from five congressional districts to four, and Dick returned to 
the Home State Bank as chairman of its board. But whether he was a 
Congressman representing the Fifth District, a community banker in his 
hometown, or an ensign in the U.S. Navy, Dick always put service to 
others above self-interest.
  Prior to his election to office in Congress, he was active in Kansas 
politics and particularly Republican politics. In my first campaign in 
1996 for the U.S. House of Representatives, it was an honor for me to 
have him agree to serve as my campaign's honorary chairman.
  In addition to his political involvement, Dick was also engaged in so 
many other things, many of them related to the community he cares so 
much about, McPherson, KS, including the chamber of commerce and the 
Rotary Club. He became the commanding general of the Kansas Cavalry, 
which is a group of business men and women from across our State who 
band together to recruit and encourage new businesses to come to our 
State, and he continued to serve other service men and women and 
veterans through his membership and participation in the American 
Legion and VFW.
  Dick has often been quoted as saying:

       Much of life is in our mental attitude. If you think great 
     things might happen, they do. If you question them ever 
     happening, they won't.

  I agree with that sentiment, and I have seen Dick Nichols live that 
in his life. Because of his attitude and character, many--including 
me--were inspired not only to get to know him but then to try to model 
their public service after his.
  In McPherson, there are few people more loved and respected than Dick 
Nichols. It is a privilege for me to be able to call him a friend and 
mentor. When I initially ran for Congress and needed advice about his 
community and his county, he was the first person I reached out to. I 
always remember, as I was campaigning for the very first time for 
office in Congress, I had people tell me: If you are a friend of Dick 
Nichols', you are a friend of mine. And it is an opportunity we all 
ought to take to remember that how we conduct ourselves influence and 
affect so many others.
  While I know that what happens here in the Senate and what happens in 
Washington, DC, has huge consequences and effect upon Kansans and 
Americans--and, in fact, people around the globe--I continue to believe 
that we change the world one person at a time, and it happens in 
communities across my State and across the country. Dick Nichols 
represents the kind of person who changes lives--in fact, changes the 
life of every person he meets.
  So today, having seen Dick Nichols just a few weeks ago at the World 
War II Memorial, built in his and other World War II veterans' honor, I 
express my gratitude to Congressman Nichols for his service to his 
community, to our State of Kansas, and to our Nation. And I use this 
opportunity to remind myself about the true nature of public service, 
about caring for other people. I wish Dick and his wife Linda and their 
families all the very best.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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