[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 6, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1174-E1175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      TRIBUTE TO COLONEL DAVID WILLIAM REANEY UPON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRADLEY BYRNE

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2016

  Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Colonel David 
``Dave'' William Reaney upon his retirement as Executive Director of 
Feeding the Gulf Coast.
   Dave was born in Iowa and grew up in California before enlisting in 
the Army as an intelligence analyst in 1969. After serving in Germany, 
he commissioned through the Officer Candidate program at Fort Benning 
in 1974.
   He spent the next 26 years as a Military Intelligence Officer at 12 
different locations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He 
served as Chief of the Electronic Intelligence Watch, U.S. European 
Command in Stuttgart, Germany supporting operations following the 
bombing of the Beirut Marine Barracks, as well as the 1986 U.S. attack 
on

[[Page E1175]]

Libya. After being promoted to Colonel in 1996, he was assigned to the 
National Security Agency as Deputy Chief of the Office of Global 
Response.
   After 30 years of active service, Col. Reaney retired in February 
2000. Just a few months later, in April, he was appointed Executive 
Director of Feeding the Gulf Coast. Formerly known as the Bay Area Food 
Bank, Feeding the Gulf Coast is responsible for serving a 24-county 
area including south Alabama, south Mississippi, and the Florida 
panhandle. The organization operates multiple nutrition programs and 
distributed over 20 million pounds of food in 2015.
   Under his leadership, Feeding the Gulf Coast reached new heights and 
achieved major milestones. The organization moved into a new facility, 
increased distribution from 4 to over 21 million pounds of food 
annually, acquired nine refrigerated delivery vehicles, developed 
afterschool snack and summer lunch programs for children at over 215 
locations, and constructed a new branch warehouse in Milton, Florida. 
Col. Reaney also oversaw the organization's disaster response to 
Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Katrina, and the Gulf Coast oil spill.
   Col. Reaney has a long list of personal achievements throughout his 
years of military and humanitarian service. He is a 1999 inductee into 
the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia and 
a 2001 inductee into the University of South Alabama ROTC Department 
Hall of Fame. His fifteen military service awards include the Defense 
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Defense Meritorious 
Service Medal. He has also served on the board of the Mobile Area 
Chamber of Commerce, as well as past president of both the Alabama Food 
Bank Association and the Florida Association of Food Banks. 
Additionally, he played a critical part in the establishment of Alabama 
Lieutenant Governor Kay Ivey's ``End Child Hunger'' task force.
   So on behalf of Alabama's First Congressional District, I wish 
Colonel Dave Reaney and his wife, Monika, all the best upon his 
retirement. And, on behalf of a grateful nation, I share our 
appreciation and gratitude for his years of service and sacrifice.

                          ____________________