[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 85 (Monday, May 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2542-S2543]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO BRIAN RIENDEAU

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, throughout a year full of new and 
difficult challenges, the greater Louisville region has been fortunate 
to have my friend Brian Riendeau helping lead the response. As the 
executive director of Dare to Care food bank, Brian has been 
instrumental in delivering tens of millions of quality and nutritious 
meals each year around this community. His vision and talent support 
families when they need it most, and we owe him a major debt of 
gratitude. This summer, Brian will bring to a close his 12 years of 
remarkable leadership at Dare to Care. I would like to take a moment 
today to recognize his accomplishments and thank him for his vast 
contributions to Kentucky.
  This last year wasn't the first time I've watched Brian deliver for 
Kentucky. Before we worked together in

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his current role, I had the privilege of having Brian on my Senate 
staff. For 5 years, he was an important adviser on legislation and 
Kentucky-focused priorities. While I was sorry to see him leave my 
office, I was pleased to know he was headed to the Bluegrass. He spent 
more than a decade in corporate leadership at one of Louisville's 
biggest employers before dedicating himself full-time to combating food 
insecurity.
  In 2009, Brian joined Dare to Care with a plan. He wanted to expand 
the food bank's physical footprint and its reach. Founded in Louisville 
more than 50 years ago to address a troubling rise of malnutrition, 
Dare to Care partners with nearly 300 local organizations to promote 
healthy and active lifestyles across the community. Brian grew the 
staff to 60-strong and developed a strategy to further invest in 
Louisville and the surrounding region. In the last few years, he 
completed a $7 million-plus capital campaign to build a new community 
kitchen to serve even more Kentuckians.
  I had the opportunity to see Brian's operation firsthand last July. 
In the first months of the pandemic, demand for Dare to Care's help 
jumped around 35 percent. Brian and his team overcame supply-chain 
disruptions, implemented social distancing and other medical 
precautions, and continued serving those in need. In fact, once Brian's 
team stocked its shelves, Dare to Care was even able to help other food 
banks in Kentucky fill their own. Brian's forward-thinking and 
commitment to service helped countless Kentucky families during the 
hardest days of this pandemic. I am so grateful to him and his team for 
working around the clock to feed Kentucky.
  Dare to Care is well-positioned to continue fulfilling its mission 
for years to come, and Brian's outstanding leadership helped get it 
there. Whatever comes next for Brian and his wife Judy, I know I speak 
for his many admirers in wishing him all the best. I would like to 
express my personal gratitude for his years of dedication to Kentucky, 
and I encourage my Senate colleagues to join me in congratulating Brian 
for his many successes.

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