[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





           IN RECOGNITION OF THE RETIREMENT OF SHEILA CANZIAN

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 7, 2022

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sheila Canzian 
upon her retirement after 52 years of public service to the people of 
San Mateo. Sheila is the marathon runner of parks and recreation 
directors, having started as a summer playground leader and moved her 
way steadily upward over decades of service.
  She grew up in San Mateo and was hired in 1970. About 79,000 
residents were served by the parks of San Mateo at the time. Today, San 
Mateo has nearly 104,000 residents and the recreational amenities of 
the city have grown to meet the needs of this increased population. She 
manages over 35 parks, six community centers, the Marina Lagoon, Poplar 
Creek Golf Course, and numerous other amenities that make San Mateo a 
youthful and fun place to live on the peninsula. Sheila was 
instrumental in the development of the city's shoreline parks along the 
bayfront, the senior center, and the rebranding of Poplar Creek Golf 
Course.
  While all parks in San Mateo have their own character, the crown 
jewel is the site of the old Kohl Mansion, affectionately known as 
Central Park. During the year, families enjoy the winter ice rink, 
modem and accessible playground equipment, and a stunning Japanese 
Garden that draws visitors from around the world. If you love Central 
Park, recognize that Sheila is the heart that allows Central Park to 
live. The rose garden and train are beloved and allow families to 
exercise together while enjoying amenities unusual in a city the size 
of San Mateo. The community recreation center has witnessed countless 
public events and is a gathering place for San Mateo's seniors. In 
dogged pursuit of keeping Central Park in fine fiddle, and even when 
city finances were strained, Sheila did a remarkable job of managing 
countless koi fish, hundreds of trees and numerous city managers. The 
koi and the trees were quick learners.
  If 52 years of professional service do not prove the point, in 2021 
Sheila was voted into the American Academy of Parks and Recreation 
Administration, a nationwide body dedicated to recognizing 
distinguished professionals. The California Parks and Recreation 
Society has inducted her into its Hall of Fame, and she once served as 
its President and Secretary. She serves on the board of the San Mateo 
Police Activities League, the San Mateo Parks Foundation, and on 
numerous community boards. As children are her professional focus, she 
also gives to the community as a board member of Peninsula Family 
Service and the Mills-Peninsula Hospital Foundation. She is a second-
generation native of San Mateo and earned her BA from the University of 
San Francisco and an MPA from Notre Dame de Namur University.
  No recitation of her love of community would be complete without 
mentioning her heartfelt support of the city's special relationship 
with the 101st Airborne Division and the sister city relationship San 
Mateo enjoys with Toyonaka, Japan. In recent years, my staff remembers 
attending a meeting where the city's little league team took at least 
30 minutes to explain to the city council the special time that the 
young people of San Mateo had as they played against, and with, their 
youthful counterparts in Toyonaka. Organizers par excellence of this 
opportunity were Sheila Canzian and her colleagues at the San Mateo 
Parks and Recreation Department.
  Along with City Clerk Patricia Olds and community member Linda 
Patterson, Sheila Canzian organizes all events that honor Alpha 
Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, of the 
101st Airborne Division. The efforts of Sheila and hundreds of other 
San Mateo residents over the years since 1967 have boosted the morale 
of our troops and paid homage to their sacrifice for liberty on behalf 
of us all.
  Madam Speaker, it is my honor to recognize Sheila Canzian. If ever 
there was a case for pursuing a life of public service, I ask that we 
look at the public spaces nurtured by Sheila. The painter Claude Monet 
had his garden, and he built his life's work around its beauty. Sheila 
Canzian had a city, and her joyful work will be with us for generations 
yet to come.

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