[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO TONY PRATT

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I 
rise on behalf of the Delaware delegation to honor the exemplary 
service of Tony Pratt, administrator of the Shoreline and Waterway 
Management section within the Delaware Department of Natural Resources 
and Environmental Control. Tony has devoted his life's work to 
preserving our coastal communities and documenting its beauty through 
his talented photography.
  Tony, sometimes known affectionately around Delaware as the Sand Man, 
is an expert on natural coastal infrastructure including beaches, 
dunes, and wetlands. He has ensured that Delaware has safe, clean, and 
broad beaches for its nearly 3 million visitors a year to enjoy. As a 
leader of the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association, he has 
an understanding of the complexities facing the coastal resources not 
just in Delaware, but around our great Nation. He is so well respected 
in his field that, in February 2017, he testified before the U.S. 
Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works on the value of 
beaches, dunes, wetlands, and other natural coastal infrastructure.
  Tony has been a key figure in turning around Delaware's beaches from 
being in a state of chronic erosion in the 1990s, to today serving as a 
top tourist destination and providing protection during the strongest 
of storms. These storms have continuously battered the coastline and 
back bays; however, Delaware coastal communities have fared better than 
most due to beach renourishment projects and mitigation work in the 
back bays. Tony has led these efforts not only to try and prepare for 
the next superstorm, but learn from past storms in order to keep our 
roads, bridges, homes, businesses, and animal habitats safe from rising 
waters.
  You would be hard pressed to find him behind a desk, especially 
during a storm. You are more likely to find him standing in the water, 
investigating the environment, and possibly even taking photos of the 
beautiful land and sea. He is there for Delaware any time of the day 
and night, on weekends and holidays. He is personally vested in his 
work and has somehow maintained that same level of passion for nearly 
four decades.
  On behalf of Delaware Senator Chris Coons and our Congresswoman, Lisa 
Blunt Rochester, I wholeheartedly thank Tony Pratt for his service to 
Delaware. His model leadership and dedication has served to improve our 
coastal communities and Delawareans' quality of life. We offer Tony our 
sincere congratulations on a job well done and wish him well as he 
embarks on the next chapter of his career.
  When people in the Navy accomplish extraordinary things in their 
lives, we say, ``Bravo Zulu!'' Today we are in your debt, and we are 
deeply grateful, as well, to your family for sharing with the people of 
Delaware and America for all these years a very good man.

                          ____________________