[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E31]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF ROBERT J. DREWEL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 9, 2014

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend Bob Drewel on the 
occasion of his retirement as the Executive Director of the Puget Sound 
Regional Council. Throughout his service in this capacity for most of 
the last decade, as well as his long tenure as Snohomish County 
Executive, Mr. Drewel demonstrated time and again his dedication to the 
continued development and success of the Puget Sound region. His civic 
service, by even the strictest of standards, is second to none. During 
his tenure as Executive Director, Mr. Drewel built effective 
partnerships among business, labor, government, and civic interests. 
Most notably, he spearheaded creation of the Prosperity Partnership, a 
broad coalition devoted to the advancement of long-term economic 
prosperity in the central Puget Sound region, and VISION 2040, the 
region's integrated growth, economic development, and transportation 
strategy. It is my privilege to thank him for his years of public 
service and for his unwavering commitment to the prudent growth of our 
region.
   Mr. Drewel's many contributions to the Puget Sound region also 
include leadership to assure assembly of the Boeing 787 jet airliner in 
Everett, and subsequent efforts to secure development of a new Air 
Force Tanker and the Boeing 737 MAX family of aircraft in Renton. In 
addition, Mr. Drewel was the first President of the Aerospace Futures 
Alliance, and he is the founder and President of the Washington 
Aerospace Partnership. He also is a past President of the Executive 
Board of the Puget Sound Regional Council and the former Chairman of 
the Sound Transit Board that led the successful attempt to win voter 
approval of the Sound Transit system in 1996. A man of seemingly 
endless energy (and forbearance), Bob also was Chairman of the Highway 
520 Tolling Implementation Committee to fund replacement of the 
Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, an absolutely crucial transportation 
link in the region. Finally, Bob served as Co-Chair of the 
Transportation Partnership of 2008 that advocated Washington state's 
largest-ever transportation improvement package, which ultimately was 
approved by the voters.
   Bob Drewel exhibited remarkable conviction and resolute commitment 
to the central Puget Sound region through the many roles and positions 
he held during his three decades of civic service to King, Kitsap, 
Pierce, and Snohomish counties. On behalf of the people of the City of 
Seattle and the State of Washington, I extend our gratitude and our 
deep appreciation to Robert J. Drewel for his extraordinary leadership 
and deep commitment to our region. We wish him all the best in his 
future endeavors.

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