[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 IN RECOGNITION OF MARY ELLEN BENNINGER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mary Ellen Benninger who has 
volunteered her time and talents to our schools in Hillsborough, 
California for decades. She is being honored tonight as the Citizen of 
the Year by the Associated Parents Group.
  Mary Ellen's dedication to our schools and our community is an 
inspiration to parents, teachers and students alike. Her leadership and 
contributions have made Hillsborough's schools the best they can be for 
our children.
  Mary Ellen started to volunteer when her children attended South 
School and then Crocker Middle School. For the last eight years she 
served on the Hillsborough City School District Board of Trustees where 
her board colleagues lovingly call her MEB. She was board president 
from 2008-2010 and has served on the Citizen Oversight Committee, Bond 
Finance Committee and as Trustee Liaison to Hillsborough's School 
Foundation during her tenure.
  Wherever Mary Ellen gets involved, her leadership helps set the 
direction of the organization or initiative she takes on. While on the 
HCSD board, Mary Ellen simultaneously served as a Hillsborough 
Recreation Commissioner from 2005-2007 and on the Hillsborough Schools 
Foundation from 1999-2013. She also volunteered for the South School 
Parent Group Board, the Hillsborough Little League and Concours 
d'Elegance and was deeply engaged in passing Measure B. At St. 
Bartholomew's Catholic Church, she was a Catechism teacher for ten 
years.
  I feel fortunate to count Mary Ellen as a friend and am a long-time 
admirer of her lasting contributions to our community. She is 
altruistic, passionate, intelligent and has an extraordinary memory. 
Her superb service has not gone unnoticed. She received the Eric Award 
and the South Hillsborough School's Outstanding Service to Youth Award.
  Mary Ellen was born in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from Mayo 
High School in Rochester, Minnesota in 1975 and earned her BA in 
Economics from Stanford University in 1979. She had a successful career 
in retail management for 16 years.
  In 1986, she married her freshman dorm sweetheart, Tom Benninger. Six 
years later they moved to Hillsborough and raised their two children 
Will and Claire. When Mary Ellen is not giving her time, she enjoys 
tennis, skiing and hiking.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to rise with me to 
honor Mary Ellen Benninger whose big heart runs over with love for all 
children in our tony town of Hillsborough. Winston Churchill once said, 
``We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we 
give.'' Mary Ellen has made an exceptional life for herself benefitting 
our entire community.

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