[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 24 (Wednesday, February 5, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H771-H772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING EDDIE BRIDGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Holding) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOLDING. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Eddie Bridges 
of Greensboro, North Carolina.
  Members of Congress rarely get the opportunity to honor those who 
have truly dedicated their lives to the public good. That is because it 
is increasingly

[[Page H772]]

rare to encounter those who are truly selfless, truly dedicated to a 
cause larger than themselves, and who truly care about preserving the 
best of our natural resources for future generations. Greensboro's 
Eddie Bridges is such a rare person.
  Madam Speaker, Eddie is an unselfish leader whose love of the 
outdoors and sportsmen's community has led him to become one of the 
most effective conservation leaders in the history of North Carolina.
  On behalf of North Carolina's congressional delegation, I want the 
world to know what an impact Eddie has made and to thank him in this 
official salute, which nobody has ever deserved more.
  Madam Speaker, Eddie founded the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat 
Foundation, which raised $5 million and has funded $1.5 million in 
conservation projects across North Carolina.

                              {time}  1045

  Eddie has been the driving force behind wildlife resource 
improvements that will benefit future generations forever. Thanks to 
Eddie's persuasive abilities and creative thinking, he has recruited 
the State of North Carolina and others to join him--to the tune of 
millions of dollars in projects--to improve wildlife restoration, water 
quality, and habitats statewide.
  Eddie's foundation has funded, for example, a quail habitat project 
in the Sandhills Game Land, a bass habitat project at Jordan Lake, a 
North Carolina State University black bear research project in Hyde 
County, and created the Frank A. Sharpe Junior Wildlife Education 
Center in Guilford County.
  We can all thank Eddie Bridges for the idea to create the North 
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's Wildlife Endowment Fund, which 
currently has $130 million in assets and has funded $70 million for 
wildlife restoration and habitat improvements.
  Madam Speaker, Eddie also helped create the State waterfowl stamp and 
State income tax checkoff for nongame and endangered wildlife, which 
together have raised $10 million for nongame wildlife and waterfowl 
projects. The endowments founded by Eddie have raised more than $200 
million to preserve and improve our natural habitat areas.
  Eddie served 12 years on the North Carolina Wildlife Resources 
Commission after being appointed by Governor Hunt. He has received top 
national awards, including the Field and Stream Conservation Hero of 
the Year Award, the Budweiser National Conservationist of the Year 
Award, the prestigious Feinstone Award, the Thomas L. Quay Wildlife 
Diversity Award, and the Chevron Conservation Award. Last year, Eddie 
was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
  But talk to Eddie and he will tell you these awards aren't about him; 
they are about his desire to give something back. As Eddie said to the 
Wilmington Star-News last January: ``It's about much more than me. It 
honors the 1 million men, women, and children who hunt and fish and 
inject more than $1.3 billion into North Carolina's economy every 
year.''
  An accomplished athlete at Elon University, a leader in the sportsman 
community, and a hunter and angler legend, conservationist Eddie 
Bridges has made a positive impact on North Carolina's natural 
resources like no other before him.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of the entire delegation, I wish to thank 
Eddie for his years of service, his incredible resource development to 
strengthen our State's wildlife, and the educational impact on our 
youth and future generations. It is truly an honor to know Eddie and to 
recognize him today.

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