[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 170 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     IN RECOGNITION OF PAM FRISELLA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 3, 2013

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Pam Frisella, one of the 
finest and most selfless public servants I know. Pam is retiring today 
as the mayor of Foster City and has served on the city council for 
eight years. She was vice mayor in 2007 and mayor in 2008. For Foster 
City, Pam's departure is not simply a retirement. It's the equivalent 
of watching a ship raise its anchor. Pam has been that anchor of 
security throughout many exciting and challenging times in the city.
  In 1998, Pam graduated from a leadership program sponsored by several 
Bay Area cities. The class helped her focus on how to best apply her 
talents and her dedication to community service. She saw that she could 
be highly effective by playing an active role in city government.
  She joined the city council in 2006, two years before the global 
recession hit. Always a fiscally-prudent person, Pam worked hard with 
her colleagues to close the budget gap that was created by the 
recession. Foster City, although built relatively recently, also has a 
large infrastructure in constant need of maintenance, repair and 
replacement. This is expensive, but Pam is dedicated to maintaining the 
quality of life that residents expect. In part due to Pam's efforts, 
the city this year will likely cure its structural deficit and its 
infrastructure investments have been wise and timely.
  The center of Foster City is in flux. Pam joined with her colleagues 
to identify the needs of the community and to envision mixed uses for 
this area. She supported an updating to the business license fee, the 
city's land use elements, and supported city efforts to conserve water 
and to improve the reliability of the city's water system.
  Pam is a strong supporter of affordable housing and served on the 
board of the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust. Because community 
service is in her blood, she has volunteered for 20 years for Samaritan 
House which serves low income families and individuals in San Mateo 
County. Samaritan House named her volunteer of the year in 1995. In 
1999, Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter awarded her the same honor. Pam is 
also giving prison ministry at San Quentin Prison. She is an ambassador 
for the Foster City Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Rotary 
Club. As you can tell from this description, Pam Frisella is a spark 
plug, igniting others into action and setting an exhausting pace of 
volunteer and civic engagement.
  Pam has been a county and regional leader. Over the years she has 
served as Foster' City's representative to the Association of Bay Area 
Governments, the City County Association of Governments, the Emergency 
Services Council, the joint powers board of the countywide library 
system, and as liaison to the high school district.
  Pam was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. After attending Western 
Michigan, she worked for General Motors and then moved to New York City 
for a career change. Pam moved to California in 1969 and in 1977 to 
Foster City, a city she came to love.
  Pam and I share a painful life experience that initially connected us 
and cemented our friendship. We both lost a husband while pregnant. 
Pam's late husband was a baseball player and they moved around the 
country a lot. They were at spring training with the Milwaukee Brewers 
when he was killed in an accident on New Year's Day 1977 in Arizona. He 
was originally from San Mateo and Pam decided to move out here to find 
a home. She was 30 years old, pregnant and had a three-year-old son, 
Jason. Three days after she arrived in Foster City, her son Daniel was 
born. The community welcomed and embraced them and she found what she 
had hoped for--a home.
  Pam coached Little League for eight years and was on the American 
Youth Soccer Organization Board of Directors for five years. She 
deserves much credit for the development and construction of Sea Cloud 
Park, the beautiful home of the Foster City Little League. In 2005, Pam 
was inducted to the Sports Wall of Fame at Sea Cloud Park. Pam was also 
the chair for the committee that reconstructed Serra High School's 
baseball field named after her late husband, Danny Frisella Memorial 
Field.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Pam Frisella on this day of her retirement. Her strength to 
overcome adversity, her generosity and her drive have benefitted every 
resident of Foster City. Her contributions will always be part of the 
fabric of her beloved home town.

                          ____________________