[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 146 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING BILL HAMMES OF SHERRARD, ILLINOIS, WHO WAS NAMED 
                    CONSERVATION TEACHER OF THE YEAR

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                           HON. CHERI BUSTOS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 2019

  Mrs. BUSTOS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Bill Hammes 
of Sherrard, Illinois, who was recently named the ``Conservation 
Teacher of the Year'' by the Association of Illinois Soil and Water 
Conservation Districts, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and 
the Illinois Audubon Society.
  Bill Hammes is an agriculture teacher at Sherrard High School where 
he has dedicated the last couple decades of his life to agricultural 
education. Hammes' work has not gone unnoticed as his class received 
the ``Environmental Youth Group Award'' in the 1980s and ``Iowater 
Award'' in the 2000s. Hammes has supported his students inside and 
outside of the classroom, teaching them essential agricultural skills 
and helping them coordinate a Cover Crop Tour in 2017. As an FFA 
mentor, his students went on to positively impact the community from 
cultivating crops, serving local food pantries and more. Additionally, 
he has enriched the local community by developing an outdoor learning 
campus which includes a garden, greenhouse and cropland for Sherrard 
students. It makes me immensely proud to see such dedication to our 
environment and community.
  Madam Speaker, I want to again formally congratulate Bill Hammes for 
being recognized for his great work. I am hopeful that communities 
across the state can learn from Hammes' leadership and agricultural 
success.

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