[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 17, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             IN HONOR OF MAYOR ROBERT J. ``BOB'' ZOLDOS II

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2018

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and thank an 
extraordinary leader from the 10th Congressional District, Mayor Robert 
J. ``Bob'' Zoldos II of Lovettsville, as he completes 20 years of 
service to the town, first as a member of the Town Council and then as 
Mayor for three consecutive terms from 2012 to 2018. Incredibly, during 
the same time frame, Mayor Zoldos has excelled in his full-time job as 
Deputy Fire Chief with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department 
that has included international rescue mission deployments with 
Virginia Task Force One, Virginia's Urban Search and Rescue Team, to 
Kenya, Turkey, Taiwan, Iran, and Haiti. Most recently, he was Task 
Force Leader of U.S.A. Search and Rescue Team One's response to Japan's 
catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
  Inspired for a career in public service by his father, Robert J. 
Zoldos, who was a volunteer firefighter and town council member in 
Leesburg, Virginia, Mayor Zoldos has been an outstanding team leader in 
all that he has undertaken. Upon announcing his run for Mayor on 
February 6, 2012, he stated, ``While I don't covet the title of mayor, 
I feel the same need that many of you have expressed . . . that we must 
keep politics out of our Lovettsville and keep the `love' in it.'' 
Indeed, as an inspirational team leader for his colleagues in the 
government of Lovettsville and for the residents of the town, Mayor 
Zoldos has kept his promise to keep Lovettsville ``a wonderful and 
neighborly place in which to live and to own a business.''
  No one has worked harder than Mayor Zoldos in championing town 
activities and events that have brought Lovettsville's creative 
initiatives regional recognition and have attracted participants from 
all over the East coast. In fact, the Mayor has often been seen 
climbing ladders, moving barrels, acting as master of ceremonies, 
setting up tents, installing decorations and cleaning up trash at the 
close of events. To create a stronger community, he also instituted a 
weekly email known as the ``Mayor's Message,'' writing more than 300 
weekly messages in his unique conversational style, in order to keep 
everyone informed about what was happening in the town and the actions 
taken by the Town Council.
  As Mayor, he has understood that economic development is critically 
important to the enhancement of the quality of life of Lovettsville's 
residents, especially for the ability to provide community based 
services and generate additional revenue to support the town's 
infrastructure. For this reason, he worked diligently to attract and 
maintain businesses in the town, and is deservedly proud of the opening 
of the Lovettsville Town Center during his tenure. Mayor Zoldos also 
advocated the transition from outsourcing water and wastewater services 
in the town as well as the development of an in-house capability which 
included the hiring of skilled utility workers to operate and manage 
the town's water and wastewater treatment facilities, that has resulted 
in considerable cost savings and improved customer service for the 
town's residents. Mayor Zoldos also supported the establishment of 
Lovettsville's first Fiscal Policy Manual which provides professional 
guidelines for building financial reserves to meet future requirements 
and achieve financial stability.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in thanking 
Mayor Robert ``Bob'' Zoldos II, a gifted leader and public servant, as 
he completes 20 years of extraordinary service to the people of the 
town of Lovettsville and the 10th Congressional District of Virginia.

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