[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SARA O'DONNELL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 16, 2017

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Sara 
O'Donnell, founder and Executive Director of the Cancer Resource Center 
of Mendocino County, who is retiring after 21 years of service.
   Sara O'Donnell grew up in rural central California, where she worked 
in the agricultural fields as a teenager and suffered the effects of 
exposure to pesticides. In 1990, after surviving a personal battle with 
breast cancer, Ms. O'Donnell set about establishing a resource to help 
individuals diagnosed with cancer. Five years later, in 1995, she and 
the founding board of directors opened the Cancer Resource Center of 
Mendocino County.
   Over the following twenty years, the Cancer Resource Center has 
grown to serve more than 360 people annually. And, under Ms. 
O'Donnell's leadership, the Center has received grants and funding from 
the California Endowment, Avon Foundation, and hundreds of local 
community members.
   Ms. O'Donnell's work has not only positively impacted the lives of 
countless individuals across Mendocino County, but she has shared her 
research and publications to provide assistance to underserved rural 
patients across the nation. Her volunteer service extends beyond the 
Cancer Resource Center. She is an advisory board member for Mendocino 
County Public Health and Mendocino County Health Insurance for All; she 
is on the board of directors for the Mendocino Coast Clinics; and she 
is an associate member of the Alliance for Rural Community Health.
   Sara O'Donnell's legacy is one of dedicated service to rural health 
care and cancer prevention, and it is appropriate to express to her our 
deep appreciation for her long and exceptional career and her 
outstanding volunteer service, and to wish her well on her retirement.

                          ____________________