[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5172-H5173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THANKING DR. MICHAEL MESSINA FOR HIS SERVICE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Dr. Michael Messina.
  Dr. Messina is retiring this week following a distinguished career in 
academia. Most recently, Dr. Messina has served as the head of the 
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Pennsylvania State 
University. He earned his bachelor's degree in forest science from Penn 
State in 1979 and a doctorate in forestry from North Carolina State 
University in 1983.
  In 2009, Dr. Messina was named director of Penn State's School of 
Forest

[[Page H5173]]

Resources after serving as a professor and associate department head at 
Texas A&M University. He has been a great resource when it comes to 
forest science and is a leader in that area.
  In July 2012, he led the Penn State School of Forest Resources in the 
creation of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. He has 
used his years of expertise and knowledge to focus on improving the 
responsible management of soil and water, healthy forests, and a 
diversity of fish and wildlife species. His work has always been aimed 
at preserving the beauty of the world around us for all to enjoy.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Messina for his years of service. I wish him 
and his wife, Suzy, all the best in retirement.


     100th Anniversary of Pennsylvania Ratifying the 19th Amendment

  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the passage of 
the 19th Amendment providing women the right to vote.
  After Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, three-fourths of 
the 48 State legislatures were needed to ratify the new amendment. This 
past Monday, June 24, marks the 100th anniversary of Pennsylvania 
becoming the seventh State to ratify the 19th Amendment.
  Women first organized and fought for suffrage on the national level 
in July of 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York. But 
Pennsylvania was a center of women's rights even before the Seneca 
Falls Convention occurred.
  Famous suffragist Lucretia Mott joined with a diverse group of 
Pennsylvania women to organize the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery 
Society in 1833.
  In 1840, the society sent Mott as a delegate to the World Anti-
Slavery Convention in London to protest the exclusion of women at the 
convention.
  Organizations like this were formed all across the Commonwealth to 
focus their attention on raising awareness of the women's suffrage 
cause.
  The decades of effort on the local and national level by women's 
suffragists resulted in Congress finally passing the 19th Amendment.
  Today women play a pivotal role in our government. The 2018 elections 
brought a record number of Pennsylvania women to the ballot box, and a 
record number were welcomed to political office across the United 
States.
  Mr. Speaker, Pennsylvania can be proud of our important role in the 
women's suffrage movement and securing the right to vote 100 years ago.

                          ____________________