[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 179 (Tuesday, November 13, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING JOHN VERNON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2018

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of John Vernon, 
who was honored as Humboldt County Citizen of the Year on October 20, 
2018, an award he richly deserves.
  John Vernon and his wife Barbara bought a home in Ferndale in 2005 
and became a resident there in 2011. The couple became involved in the 
community as Court Appointed Special Advocates. Mr. Vernon joined the 
Salt River Watershed Council as a board member in 2014, and also 
volunteered at the Ferndale Senior Resource Center.
  John Vernon and a group of 40 friends from Ferndale formed 
Indivisible Ferndale after the 2016 presidential election. Under Mr. 
Vernon's leadership, Indivisible Ferndale began holding monthly potluck 
meetings and began organizing civic engagement activities. Indivisible 
Ferndale members started attending local school board and city council 
meetings, made phone calls and wrote letters to state and federal 
representatives expressing their views.
  By 2018, Indivisible Ferndale became a 501(c)4 nonprofit, and under 
Mr. Vernon's leadership, the civic engagement of this group led to 
thousands of contacts with officials on a wide variety of issues. The 
membership of Indivisible Ferndale now numbers more than 60 people who 
actively engage with the community and elected representatives on a 
regular basis.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing deep appreciation for John 
Vernon's extraordinary devotion to the democratic process and 
congratulating him for his service to the North Coast community.

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