[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING NORTH CAROLINA SENATOR TOM McINNIS, CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, North Carolina State 
Senator Tom McInnis of Rockingham has been named ``Citizen of the 
Year'' by the Richmond Community College Foundation, and I rise to 
comment on this well-deserved honor for my friend. Tom is an alumnus of 
RCC, and I know this distinction is meaningful to him.
  I was privileged to serve with Tom in the North Carolina Senate and 
have worked closely with him to learn and serve the needs of Richmond 
County in the time leading to and since my election in the House. That 
experience deepened my appreciation for Tom's love for Rockingham and 
Hamlet and the rest of Richmond County and his personal force in 
advocating for the needs and advancement of his people--and I mean 
everybody.
  The citizenship award specifically recognizes Tom's effort and 
success in promoting workforce training for rural North Carolina. And 
Tom has devoted much of his adult life to improving educational 
opportunity, especially.
  Tom grew up on a Richmond County farm. He put himself through school 
and started multiple businesses. In 1983, he founded Iron Horse Auction 
Company, which, in 2013, was named one of the top 10 auction companies 
in the United States. He was elected to the North Carolina Auctioneers 
Association Hall of Fame in 1994.
  Tom's public life began with 8 years' service on the Richmond County 
Board of Education. Tom is now in his third term in the Senate, where 
he serves as chairman of the Transportation Committee.
  Tom played a key role in securing funding for workforce training at 
Richmond Community College, including programs for truck driver 
training and electrical linemen. Since just the fall of 2016, the 
trucking program has graduated 50 new drivers into the workforce with 
highly marketable skills. The lineman program started last fall and 
already has a waitlist.
  Tom will never forget his rural roots, and his people will never 
forgot his hard work and service on their behalf. I am proud to call 
him a colleague, mentor, and friend.

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