[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 87 (Friday, May 19, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H4381-H4383]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HONORING KBTX-TV

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks made during 
this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize KBTX-TV, who, on 
May 22, will be celebrating 60 years of service in the Brazos Valley of 
Texas.
  In 1957, KBTX began broadcasting from a four-room brick studio on 
East 29th Street in Bryan, Texas. Today, the studio is still located at 
the same location, but just like the surrounding area, it has grown 
immensely.
  Starting out, KBTX was both a CBS and an ABC affiliate. In 1984, they 
became a CBS affiliate exclusively. The station prides itself on its 
commitment and dedication to responsible reporting and community 
involvement. Fittingly, the station's slogan is ``The People You Know, 
The News You Trust.''
  KBTX has set the standard for television and news in the Brazos 
Valley. They were the first television station in the Brazos Valley, 
and over the past 60 years, they have had many more impressive firsts 
in the Brazos Valley, including the following:
  The first television station capable of color transmission and the 
use of videotape;
  The first television station to use color news film;
  The first to cover live sports, news, and weather, as well as 
community events using remote, live trucks with cameras and out-of-
studio editing capabilities;
  The first television station with Doppler radar;
  The first 24-hour television station; and
  The first commercial television station to broadcast in high-
definition television.
  The KBTX news and creative services teams have also received many 
prestigious awards, which include the following: multiple Lone Star 
Emmys; multiple Telly Awards; multiple Texas Associated Press 
Broadcasters Awards, including the 2013 TAPB Overall Excellence in 
Television Award; multiple ADDY Awards; and the Edward R. Murrow Award 
in 2013.
  I would like to congratulate KBTX-TV on all of their achievements and 
for their 60 years of service to the Brazos Valley. It is an honor for 
me to represent in Congress such a great team and a pillar for our 
community.
  As I close these remarks, I ask everyone to continue praying for our 
country, our military, and our first responders who selflessly serve 
and sacrifice to protect us.


                        Honoring J.B. Owen, Jr.

  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor J.B. Owen, Jr., of 
Woodway, Texas, who passed away on March 5, 2017.
  J.B. was born in Mathis, Texas, on November 19, 1928. He attended 
grade school in this small community with just three other students. 
Upon graduation from Mathis High School, J.B. went to Southwest Texas 
State University in San Marcos, where he would go on to earn a bachelor 
of business administration in general business.
  He began his career by teaching business classes in Dilley, Texas, 
before a diagnosis of tuberculosis landed him in the hospital for 15 
months. Thankfully, J.B. made a full recovery and set out to become an 
insurance agent with Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Company. J.B. was an 
exemplary leader at Farm Bureau for 41 years before his retirement in 
1992.

  In 1965, J.B. married Lillian Holley Rector, known as Lil, a Georgia 
peach he met on a blind date with the help of a coworker. In their 50-
plus years of marriage, Lil and J.B. raised three children--Richard, 
Holley, and J.B. III. They were blessed with nine grandchildren, 
including triplets, who were born in 2001.
  Along with being loving grandparents, J.B. and Lil enjoyed traveling, 
both in Texas and beyond.
  J.B. is recognized as an exemplary steward for the greater Waco 
community. He was an active volunteer and community member, serving on 
the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Community Development Board. 
He also served as an elder at Highland Baptist Church and taught Sunday 
school for 35 years.
  J.B. served as the president of the Northwest Waco Rotary Club, 
president of the Harlingen PTA, and as president of Kids & Co., a 
childcare center. He was also a member of Gideons International, a 
Christian business association.
  Mr. Speaker, J.B. Owen worked tirelessly to better our central Texas 
and Waco communities. He is loved by his city and certainly left an 
enduring impression on central Texas. He will be forever remembered as 
a great philanthropist, community member, husband, father, grandfather, 
and friend.

[[Page H4382]]

  My wife, Gina, and I offer our deepest and heartfelt condolences to 
the Owen family. We also lift up his wife, Lil, and family and friends 
of J.B. Owen, Jr., in our prayers.
  I have requested that a United States flag be flown over the United 
States Capitol to honor the life and legacy of J.B. Owen, Jr.
  As I close these remarks, I urge all Americans to continue praying 
for our country during these difficult times, for our military men and 
women, and for our first responders who protect us here at home.

                              {time}  1300


                        Honoring Bob J. Surovik

  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Bob J. Surovik of 
Bryan, Texas, who passed away on February 7, 2017.
  Bob was born in Glen Rose, Texas, on October 27, 1936. In 1954, he 
graduated from Mount Pleasant High School and went on to Texas A&M 
University, an institution he cherished for the rest of his life. At 
Texas A&M, Bob was active in the student body as the president of the 
Student Senate and in the Singing Cadets. He also served in the Town 
Hall, the Prelaw Society, the Accounting Society, and the Memorial 
Student Leadership Council.
  He was named as a ``Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and 
Universities.
  After graduation from Texas A&M in 1958 with a degree in business 
administration, he married the love of his life, Elaine Maedgen. Later 
that year, he and Elaine moved to Austin, where Bob pursued a law 
degree, and Elaine pursued a bachelor's degree from the University of 
Texas. Bob earned his law degree in 1961, and Elaine earned her 
undergraduate degree in 1960.
  Upon graduation from law school, Bob joined the United States Army. 
While serving his country, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal 
for meritorious service.
  He began his legal career in 1963, starting out with the McMahon Law 
Firm. In 1973, Bob was named as the State Junior Bar Outstanding Young 
Lawyer of the Year and was admitted and qualified as an attorney and 
counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States. He would go on to 
become president of McMahon, Surovik, Suttle, P.C., where he practiced 
for 50 years.
  Bob was an exceptional steward for Texas A&M in the Abilene 
community. He was the president of the Abilene A&M Club, a member of 
the Texas Aggie Bar Association. He was an avid Fightin' Texas Aggie 
football fan and attended almost all home games at Kyle Field.
  In 2011, Texas A&M named him Aggie Lawyer of the Year and in 2012 
named him as a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest award that can be 
given to a former student of Texas A&M University.
  In Abilene, Bob was known for his community service, coaching Little 
League baseball, serving as a director of the chamber of commerce, 
president of the Abilene Bar Association, and chairman of the Community 
Foundation. He was also an active parishioner at St. Paul United 
Methodist Church, where his favorite activity was teaching Sunday 
school to the kindergarten class, which he did for 15 years.
  Mr. Speaker, Bob Surovik worked tirelessly to better the Abilene and 
Texas A&M communities and to help those around him. He is loved in 
these places, and he left an enduring impression on countless Texans. 
He will be forever remembered as a great philanthropist, community 
member, husband, father, and friend.
  My wife, Gina, and I offer our deepest and heartfelt condolences to 
the Surovik family. We also lift up the family and friends of Bob 
Surovik in our prayers.
  I request that a United States flag be flown over the United States 
Capitol to honor the life and legacy of Bob Surovik.
  As I close these remarks, I urge all Americans to continue to pray 
for our country during these difficult times and for our military men 
and women who sacrifice to protect us.


                         Honoring Elwyn L. Bass

  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a person who is very 
special to my family and me. Today I am celebrating the life and legacy 
of my father-in-law, Mr. Elwyn L. Bass. Mr. Bass was more commonly 
known as Sam to his friends, and he passed away on April 26, 2017.
  Sam was born in Vealmoor, Texas, on January 26, 1934. At the young 
age of 16, he graduated from Ackerly High School. Upon graduation from 
Ackerly, Sam married a beautiful young woman, Johnette Carr, and went 
on to attend Baylor University in Waco. While at Baylor, he joined the 
United States Army.
  After finishing his service in the Army and following his graduation 
from Baylor, Sam devoted his career to public education. He began that 
career by serving as a teacher and principal at Dawson High School. He 
later served as superintendent for Grady ISD in west Texas, followed by 
service as superintendent for Follett ISD, a small town in the Texas 
Panhandle. His next position was superintendent of schools at Stratford 
Independent School District in my hometown of Stratford, a Texas 
community in the northwest part of the panhandle.
  In 1990, Sam retired after 35 years of service to the Texas public 
school system. At that time, he was so beloved by the Stratford 
community that our local sports stadium was named E. L. ``Sam'' Bass 
Stadium in his honor.
  At the beginning of his retirement, he moved to east Texas and lived 
in a home that he constructed with his own hands and with a little help 
from friends and family.
  Sam suffered a loss in 1992 when Johnette, his beloved wife of 42 
years, passed away.
  In 1994, he married Jo Anna Morton. Soon thereafter, he returned to 
education, teaching and coaching basketball for 10 years at Faith 
Lutheran School in Sugar Land, Texas.
  Sam was known as a generous and caring man who was active in the 
community. He remained active throughout his life in the churches he 
attended, serving as a deacon at the First Baptist Church in Stratford 
and on the board at Parkway United Methodist Church in Sugar Land. Sam 
was known for his strong Christian faith and for his love of old hymns, 
a few of which he sang off key. His friends and family will always 
remember how he saw the good in people and his positive outlook on 
life.
  Mr. Bass' life reminds me of a passage from a book, entitled, ``The 
Applause of Heaven,'' written by Max Lucado. In that book, he has a 
moving passage which describes all of our lives. The passage reads as 
follows: ``You'll be home soon. You may not have noticed it, but you 
are closer to home than ever before. Each moment is a step taken. Each 
breath is a page turned. Each day is a mile marked, a mountain climbed. 
You are closer to home than you've ever been. Before you know it, your 
appointed arrival time will come; you'll descend the ramp and enter the 
City. You'll see the faces that are waiting for you. You'll hear your 
name spoken by those who love you. And maybe, just maybe--in the back, 
behind the crowd--the One who would rather die than live without you 
will remove his nail-pierced hands from His heavenly robe . . . and 
applaud.''

  Mr. Speaker, Sam Bass worked tirelessly for the youth of Texas and to 
better the communities around him. He is loved by his family and 
friends, of which there are many.
  Sam left an enduring impression on the lives he touched. He will be 
forever remembered as a great educator, community member, husband, 
father, great-grandfather, and friend. I am certain that when he took 
his last breath on Earth, Jesus welcomed him with the words of Matthew 
25:23: ``Well done, good and faithful servant.'' His friends and I will 
continue to pray for his family over the coming days and weeks ahead.
  I recently requested that an American flag be flown over the Capitol 
to honor the life and legacy of my father-in-law, Sam Bass.
  Mr. Speaker, as I close today, I urge all Americans to continue 
praying for our country during these difficult times, for our military 
men and women who protect us from external threats, and for our first 
responders who protect us at home.
  It is particularly poignant this week that it is National Police 
Week, and so we should recognize those police who serve us. In 2 weeks, 
we are going to celebrate Memorial Day, and it is important that we 
recognize our men and women in uniform of the United States military.

[[Page H4383]]

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________