[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3616-S3617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING BOB PENNEY

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, my dear friend, Robert Clark 
Penney, passed away on March 14, 2023. As we prepare to say our final 
goodbyes at a memorial ceremony this coming weekend, I am among many 
Alaskans who are reflecting on the legacy Bob created across our state 
and especially along his beloved Kenai River.
  Named Alaska's Ambassador for Sport Fishing by our State legislature 
in 2017, Bob was known for his success in business and his tireless 
advocacy of the iconic Kenai River watershed. But, like many Alaskans, 
he started with humble roots in the lower 48. Bob was born in Portland 
in 1932, where he showed his business acumen early. At the age of 10, 
he and his sister Patsy were gifted a pony. While his sister was 
gathering her friends for a free ride, Bob was on the next block with 
the pony, selling rides for a dime apiece.
  As he grew up, Bob played on the high school tennis team and worked 
part-time after school hours. He also loved the outdoors, hunting birds 
and fishing for salmon in the local rivers near Gresham, OR.
  Bob answered the call to head north to Alaska in 1951, when the 
lumber company he worked for expanded into what was then still a U.S. 
Territory. When Bob was just 19, the company offered him the job of 
managing their new Alaska prospect. Bob excelled there, but it was a 
job he took at Wade Trailer sales in 1956 that inspired him to enter 
real estate, where he would really make his mark.
  After learning the ropes at Wade's, Bob opened Penney Trailer Sales 
in 1959, selling mobile homes. Bob soon grew the business to include 
RVs and housing for construction camps. In just a few short years, he 
was the largest mobile home dealer in our new State. During that time, 
Bob also began to invest in real estate and building development. He 
built everything from single-family homes to massive commercial real 
estate ventures spanning the west coast and Mexico. Through it all, Bob 
always gave back, seemingly more by the year. His philosophy in both 
life and business was to ``wear the other guy's shoes'' and ``always 
leave a little bit for the next person.'' Bob served on the boards of 
the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Anchorage Economic Development 
Corporation, and the Alaska Regional Hospital Board of Trustees. He was 
a philanthropist, starting the Anchorage Mayor's Charity Ball, which 
has now raised more than $4 million for charitable organizations in our 
State's largest city.
  When the oil industry started to boom in Alaska, Bob felt the State 
needed greater community involvement to bring attention to this 
opportunity and others like it. He formed the Organization for the 
Management of Alaska's Resources--OMAR--later renamed the Resource 
Development Council--RDC--and included many State leaders in the 
effort. RDC is now Alaska's largest resource trade association--
encompassing the fishing, forestry, mining, oil and gas, and tourism 
industries--and its advocacy remains critical to growing our economy 
and reaching our potential as a state.
  Bob also had a distinguished tenure as a member of the North Pacific 
Fisheries Management Council. The federally chartered council is 
critical to the sustainable management of Alaska's commercial 
fisheries, one of the largest employers and economic drivers in our 
State. Bob's service on the board contributed to the health and well-
being of the largest fishery in America, but his true passion was the 
conservation of the fishery of the Kenai River in southcentral Alaska.
  Bob was always delighted by Kenai Chinooks, or ``Kings,'' the largest 
salmon in the world. He loved to take friends and visitors out on the 
river and the pictures of happy anglers and their catch of the day 
adorned the walls of his riverfront home. Bob realized these fish are 
an amazing resource for the State and for Alaskans, as more than half 
our population can access the river by road in a matter of hours. Bob 
knew that Alaskans could feed their families and fill their freezers 
from this river in perpetuity if it was managed correctly.
  So, in 1986, Bob founded the Kenai River Sportfishing Association. 
Under his direction, the association grew into Alaska's premier 
sportfish and fish

[[Page S3617]]

habitat conservation organization, helping to ensure the long-term 
sustainability of the river.
  Bob and two of his friends, Senator Ted Stevens and Bix Bonney, 
utilized KRSA to start the Kenai River Classic, an invitational fishing 
tournament held each August. The tournament has brought in elected 
officials and industry leaders from across America, educating them 
about the Kenai River and its needs. It has raised over $25 million for 
conservation of the local watershed, enabling the rehabilitation of 
critical fish spawning habitat, opportunities for youth, and better 
access to the river for both subsistence and sportfishing.
  ``Alaska's Sport Fish Ambassador'' was true to his name and title, 
but family and friends were the driving force in his life. Bob met his 
wife Jeannie in 1973 at a dinner party in Girdwood; they dated and got 
married on New Year's Eve in 1974 on a sailing schooner in Kawela Bay 
off Oahu. Since the vessel was ``just outside the limits,'' their 
marriage license lists the latitude and longitude, instead.
  Bob always had big ideas for Alaska. He couldn't walk through a room 
without taking up one cause or other. He followed through, helping to 
build our young State. But Bob was always happiest holding court at his 
home, ``River Presence,'' on the Kenai, surrounded by his family and 
friends.
  Bob is survived by 4 grown children, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-
grandchildren, and leaves a remarkable legacy, from economic 
development to philanthropy, to world-class fishing on the Kenai River. 
My family and I knew Bob for decades, were proud to call him our 
friend, and are grateful for all he did to enrich our great 
State.

                          ____________________