[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 12, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E403-E404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MS. GINNY CRAVEN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 12, 2016

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. 
Ginny Craven, founder of Operation Tango Mike, for her ongoing support 
for veterans, active duty troops. and her Lake County, California 
community.

[[Page E404]]

  Ms. Craven's family has been in Lake County since the 1800's, and 
it's these strong Lake County roots that helped to form her impressive 
commitment to serving her neighbors. Ms. Craven is a retired Senior 
Deputy Probation Officer for Lake County, and for 14 years, she has 
served as a volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician with 
the Lucerne Fire Department.
  Ms. Craven has a long history of ensuring service members, veterans 
and their families receive the care and services they need. For the 
past 13 years, she has led Operation Tango Mike, an all-volunteer non-
profit organization that has sent over 16,000 care packages to troops 
serving overseas.
  Locally, Ms. Craven serves as an honorary member on the United 
Veterans Council of Lake County, the Military Funeral Honors Team of 
Lake County, and the Pearl Harbor Survivors of Lake County. Ms. Craven 
serves as a liaison for local Gold Star families and Operation 
Homefront, and provides publicity, fundraising, and social media 
expertise for multiple veteran organizations. Furthermore, Ms. Craven 
has put her organizational talents and volunteer connections to work in 
California to assist her community during and after the Rocky and 
Valley Fires, coordinating with the U.S. Army to bring an engineer 
battalion to Lake County for flood prevention operations.
  In recognition of her numerous contributions to her community, Ms. 
Craven was named as the 2007 Lake County Friend of the Veteran, the 
2008 Stars of Lake County Woman of the Year, and the Grand Marshal of 
the Lake County Fair in 2011. For her contributions to the United 
States Army, Ms. Craven received the U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute in 
2010, and for her dedication to community service, she received the 
Byron Whipple Award from the Lake County Association of Realtors in 
2012.
  Mr. Speaker, Ginny Craven has dedicated countless hours to improving 
the welfare of deployed troops, veterans, and her neighbors, and it is 
fitting and proper that we honor her here today.

                          ____________________