[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 16, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1170-E1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MARVIN HAMMOND

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 16, 2014

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Marvin Hammond, a friend of 
mine for more than 50 years, passed away this past Saturday in 
Knoxville, Tennessee. Marvin was one of the finest men I have ever 
known.
  Marvin was 71 and had a long and successful career as an executive 
for the Knoxville Utilities Board and as the top official of the 
Hallsdale-Powell Utility District.
  I first got to know Marvin when he was the manager of Holston High 
School athletic teams. I played a lot of sports and sold programs, 
popcorn, and soft drinks at many games for the University of Tennessee 
and Knoxville professional teams. Marvin was at many of these games.

[[Page E1171]]

  When I was 15, I got my first hourly-pay job working as a 
groundskeeper at the Holston-Chilhowee ball park. Marvin was 19 and was 
my first boss. I made $1.00 an hour, and he always joked that I was 
overpaid.
  After high school he became a trainer in the Cincinnati Reds minor 
league system. I was batboy for the Knoxville Smokies and would see him 
when his team would come to town. He was always proud of his 
association with several players who later made it to the big leagues. 
He especially treasured his longtime friendship with manager Dave 
Bristol.
  The Knoxville News-Sentinel relates a story about how Marvin helped a 
Cub Scout troop that I led. He spent a full day and went to great 
lengths to help me and the Cub Scouts, none of which he knew other than 
my son, John.
  He campaigned for me in my first race for Congress. I will never 
forget a campaign trip one Saturday to Polk County, Tennessee. Lance 
Cavett was with us and he kept fussing at Marvin about his ridiculously 
high KUB bill and how he just couldn't believe it.
  Marvin became very concerned and then asked Lance how high this 
terrible utility bill was. When Lance replied that it was $36, Marvin, 
who was driving, nearly ran off the road.
  I was pleased that on the Monday before he died, I had about a 30-
minute visit with Marvin at his Hospice room. He held my hand for 
almost the entire visit.
  He seemed so alert and pleasant that I left thinking and hoping that 
he would recover. Unfortunately, that was not to be.
  That day, we talked over old stories and old friends. He assured me 
that he was not in any pain and that God had greatly blessed him in 
many ways.
  He told me of what he considered to be a miracle during his final 
illness. He said he had become addicted to pain pills and told his 
doctor he wanted to stop taking them.
  He said his doctor told him that would not be possible--that no one 
could stand the pain he would experience. Marvin insisted, saying he 
was turning it over to the Lord. He said from that moment, he became 
miraculously pain-free.
  Marvin had accepted that his death was near and told me he was 
thankful that he had been given time to say good-bye to his family and 
friends. He faced his death in a courageous, loving way, showing great 
Christian faith, and setting a wonderful example for everyone.
  Marvin Hammond was a good and kind man. I was told that over 300 
friends visited him in his last days and hundreds more attended his 
receiving of friends and funeral.
  This Nation would be a better place if we had more men like Marvin 
Hammond. To me, he was a great man.
  I commend to my colleagues and other readers of the Record the 
stories about Marvin Hammond that ran in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on 
July 14, 2014, and the Shopper News on July 16, 2014.

                  [From knoxnews.com, July 14, 2014.]

         Former Hallsdale Powell CEO Marvin Hammond dies at 71

                            (By Josh Flory)

       A prominent former leader of a North Knox County utility 
     district died on Saturday.
       Marvin Hammond, 71, was the former president and CEO of the 
     Hallsdale Powell Utility District, and previously a longtime 
     executive with the Knoxville Utilities Board.
       Darren Cardwell, Hammond's son-in-law and the current 
     general manager of HPUD, said Monday that Hammond had been in 
     worsening health for several months, and had been receiving 
     hospice care.
       Cardwell described Hammond as a mentor, coach and boss, 
     saying that even when they disagreed, they could still ``have 
     a family life, too, and not carry the two together.''
       ``That taught me a lot over the years in how to grow and be 
     more of not only a husband and father but how to be a leader 
     in the business,'' Cardwell said.
       Knoxville attorney John Valliant said that in the last days 
     of his life, many people would ask Hammond how they could 
     help, and he would respond by telling them about other people 
     with needs. ``He was giving people instructions as to how he 
     wanted them to help other people, and he was dying,'' 
     Valliant said.
       Hammond's leadership at Hallsdale Powell wasn't without 
     controversy. His tenure coincided with a significant growth 
     phase for the utility, which also drew sharp criticism from 
     some customers over rising utility rates.
       In 2012, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett criticized a $125-
     an-hour consulting contract approved for Hammond after he 
     stepped down from the HPUD post. That contract was later 
     terminated.
       Valliant said Hammond was a selfless person. ``You know 
     people gave him a lot of grief over the rate increases at 
     Hallsdale Powell, but they didn't realize that the EPA was 
     breathing down his throat,'' he said.
       Hammond was well-connected in local political circles, and 
     counted U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. among his friends. In a 
     written tribute in 2008, Duncan recalled his first hourly-pay 
     job as a 15-year-old groundskeeper at Holston-Chilhowee Ball 
     Park, saying that Hammond was his 19-year-old boss.
       ``I remember another time when I was a judge, Marvin found 
     that I was Cubmaster of a Cub Scout troop,'' Duncan wrote. 
     ``He told me he could get several canoes from another church 
     and he knew some people who owned a dairy farm 45 miles away 
     with a big lake on it. He spent his whole day getting the 
     canoes, helping the boys tour the farm, do the canoe rides, 
     cook out, and then load everything back up for the return.''
       Receiving of friends will take place on Tuesday, July 15, 
     from 4:30 to 8 p.m., at Salem Baptist Church, with funeral 
     services to follow.
                                  ____


                    [From the Business Shopper news]

            Marvin Hammond Promoted Young People, Community

                           (By Sandra Clark)

       Marvin Hammond was the right leader for Hallsdale Powell 
     Utility District when the board of commissioners hired him as 
     only the second general manager in the district's 50-year 
     history.
       Did he move too quickly? Maybe. Did he move HPUD in the 
     right direction? Absolutely.
       Under his leadership, HPUD upgraded its wastewater plant, 
     upgraded its Beaver Creek water treatment plant, replaced 
     leaking pipes throughout the district, and built a second 
     water plant on Norris Lake.
       Under his leadership, HPUD invested in people--whether it 
     was teaching laborers to read and write or encouraging kids 
     to return to college for advanced degrees.
       In the picture on this page, Marvin is congratulating Cody 
     Humphrey who had just received his MBA from Lincoln Memorial 
     University while working full time at Hallsdale Powell. Cody, 
     now older, still works for HPUD. He was at Monday's board 
     meeting.
       Board chair Kevin Julian paid tribute to Mr. Hammond at 
     that meeting.
       ``His vision for Hallsdale Powell was already set when I 
     came on the board:'' Julian said. ``Marvin had big shoulders 
     and he took the criticism for rate increases, but he did what 
     he thought best based on 30 years experience in the utility 
     business.
       ``When it all plays out, people will appreciate his vision. 
     He will be missed.''
       When business leaders in Halls were trying to block 
     commercial development on the land that later became Clayton 
     Park, Hammond was there at County Commission to speak.
       Developers said their engineers had said filling the 
     wetland on Norris Freeway was OK.
       Hammond pointed out that the Titanic was designed by 
     engineers, while Noah's Ark was not.
       Everybody smiled and the developers were sent packing.
       When Darren Cardwell was promoted to succeed Hammond, he 
     said he hoped to be a blend of his predecessors: Allan Gill 
     and Marvin Hammond.
       When Marvin's kidneys malfunctioned, he refused dialysis, 
     saying he did not want to put his family through the strain. 
     ``I'm ready to go,'' he told everyone who came to visit. He 
     lived at Tennova Hospice for less than two weeks, dying July 
     12, and held court with a steady flow of visitors and 
     friends.
       Sen. Lamar Alexander telephoned Marvin and asked if there 
     was anything he could do.
       ``Get EPA off our backs,'' Marvin told him, concerned about 
     Hallsdale Powell employees and customers until the end.
       ``Dad will be remembered as a Godly servant leader, a 
     generous southern gentleman, and one who was always showing 
     genuine Christian love for his fellow man, especially for the 
     less fortunate among us,'' his family wrote.
       ``Dad was a proud alumnus of ETSU where he was member of 
     the baseball and football programs in the 1960s. He also 
     played minor league baseball for the Macon Peaches. He was a 
     U.S. Air Force veteran and held the coveted Eagle Scout and 
     Silver Beaver awards.
       ``He squeezed every ounce of life he was given whether he 
     was working, fishing, or hunting. He was proud to be known as 
     a conservative, ``deep water'' Baptist and as an unworthy man 
     saved and blessed by God's grace and love.''
       U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan remembers Hammond as his first boss 
     at the Holston-Chilhowee Rec Center. Jimmy was 15 and earned 
     $1 per hour. Marvin was 19 and ``told me what to do.''
       Survivors include wife Kay Hammond; children: Jeff and 
     Missy Hammond, Lisa and Darren Cardwell; brother James (Jim) 
     Hammond; grandchildren: John and Xan Hammond, Amber and Colby 
     Cardwell, and Megan Pratt; great-granddaughter Lucy Rae 
     Pratt.
       Services were Tuesday at Salem Baptist Church, led by the 
     Rev. John Holland with eulogies by Bill Landry, John Hill and 
     John Valliant.

                          ____________________