[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 98 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING ROCHESTER FIRE CHIEF TOM BUTLER ON HIS UPCOMING 
                               RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RUDY YAKYM III

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 11, 2024

  Mr. YAKYM. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize and congratulate 
Fire Chief Tom Butler, who is retiring as Fire Chief of the Rochester 
Fire Department in Rochester, Indiana, at the end of this month.
  Serving as Rochester Fire Chief since 2008, Tom's career in public 
safety spans back three decades when he started as a volunteer 
firefighter for the Department in 1994. Chief Butler's 16 and a half 
years in his current role means that when he retires on June 28, he 
will hold the title for the longest serving Fire Chief in Rochester 
history.
  Chief Butler's career with the Rochester Fire Department is but one 
reflection of his lifelong passion for helping others. Since he was a 
young man, Chief Butler felt a calling to serve our Nation in uniform. 
That calling led Tom to enter military service, where he was a military 
medic for 24 years with stints in both the Army and the Indiana Army 
National Guard. Part of that service was spent on two tours in the 
Middle East, including a deployment during Operation Desert Storm. Tom 
distinguished himself in service, and his military awards include a 
Bronze Star, expert field medical badge, and combat medical badge.
  Because of his service as Fire Chief, the Rochester community and 
Fulton County are unquestionably better off and safer thanks to this 
good man who exemplifies what it means to be a true public servant who 
sacrifices for others.
  Chief Butler's example and leadership are also reminders that first 
responders are on the frontlines of some of the most difficult 
situations our communities face. When there is a problem, first 
responders like Tom answer the call and willingly put themselves in 
danger's path to keep us safe. For that, all of us are extremely 
grateful.
  I am proud to join so many Hoosiers throughout Indiana's Second 
District in expressing our appreciation to Chief Butler for his 
impressive career spent in service to others. I wish Tom and his 
family--including his wife Samantha and their two children Alison and 
Daniel--all the best going forward as Tom begins the next chapter of 
his life and a very well-deserved retirement. May God bless.

                          ____________________