[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 4 (Friday, January 6, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E30]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING PAMELA DUNLAP PATTERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 6, 2017

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Pamela 
Patterson, as she retires from her career as the Chief Executive 
Officer of West Company and the Director of the Mendocino Small 
Business Development Center.
   Born and raised in Virginia, Pamela Dunlap Patterson later obtained 
an Associate Degree at Massey Junior College in Atlanta and began a 
career in the retail industry. Pamela headed west to California in 1979 
to become the Retail Merchandising Teacher for the Fort Bragg High 
School Regional Occupation Program. She then went on to serve as the 
literacy coordinator for the Mendocino County Library in Fort Bragg, 
and eventually, the coordinator for the ``Read Right'' program through 
Georgia Pacific where she helped improve literacy for workers in the 
timber industry.
   In 1998, Pamela Patterson began her long career with West Company, a 
pilot Women's Business Center funded by the Small Business 
Administration. In 2004, she took the helm of the organization which at 
the time was struggling financially. Under Pamela's leadership, West 
Company stabilized funding sources, and secured a contract as the Small 
Business Development Center in 2007. Over her term as the Chief 
Executive Officer she has secured millions of dollars in funding to 
help micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow as 
means of improving the local economy.
   Pamela Patterson's legacy is one of dedicated service to 
entrepreneurship and an educated workforce. Please join me in 
congratulating Pamela on her retirement and expressing our deep 
appreciation for her long and exceptional career, and her outstanding 
contributions to Mendocino County's workforce and economy.

                          ____________________