[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 53 (Monday, March 27, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E392-E393]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO MR. ROBERT GEORGE EVANS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TODD ROKITA

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 27, 2017

  Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a decent and generous 
American, Mr. Robert George Evans, Jr., who passed away on March 16, 
2017 surrounded by his loving family.
  Robbie was a lifelong New Orleanian. He graduated from Archbishop 
Shaw High School and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management 
from the University of New Orleans. After college he rose to the 
position of Vice President for the family steel drum business, Evans 
Cooperage. He later founded Con-Tech International which began selling 
industrial steel drum parts and related items. Under his leadership, 
the company has grown into an international corporation supplying steel 
and hundreds of custom manufactured parts to various industries across 
the globe.
  I met Robbie through a mutual friend, Jerry Bonnet. It was a few 
years after Hurricane Katrina and I was still Indiana Secretary of 
State. My office had ``adopted'' an inner city school in Indianapolis, 
and I heard that Robbie and New Orleans were doing some amazing

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work with parental choice in schools in the Hurricane's aftermath that 
basically destroyed a lot of public school infrastructure. We had been 
personal friends ever since that first meeting.
  Robbie helped lead a ``Phoenix from the ashes'' movement in the New 
Orleans schools. The success was due to the need to throw away the old 
bureaucracy, rules, and the attitude that the schools existed for the 
adults in them rather than for the kids. Robbie helped turn that all-
around, attracting national attention for the model. He devoted 
hundreds of hours annually to improving New Orleans public schools and 
the lives of the students attending them. He was an unapologetic 
advocate for inner-city students attending Lafayette Academy and 
Esperanza Charter School. He served as a board member for the Choice 
Foundation where he was both the Vice Chairman and Executive Committee 
member. Robbie served on many other boards and committees, each with a 
goal to improve and enhance the economic environment or educational 
opportunity of his community.
  Robbie was a man of high character and integrity. He had a servant's 
heart for his community and those who live in it. His love for New 
Orleans and its culture was evident in his words and actions. Robbie 
was an art, architecture, and history enthusiast. He loved to travel 
the country and world meeting new people and experiencing different 
cultures. He was a friend to many people and an advocate for more. His 
obituary was correct in all respects, including that he indeed was a 
terrible driver.
  Robbie leaves Barbara, his beloved wife of 34 years, his daughter and 
son, and many other family and friends to carry on his legacy of 
service to their communities. Anyone who knew him well knows what a 
great loss his passing is for New Orleans and our nation. Rest in peace 
Robbie, you will not be forgotten.

                          ____________________