[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 21, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H4693-H4694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING COLORADO ARMY NATIONAL GUARD AVIATORS
(Mr. Hurd of Colorado was recognized to address the House for 5
minutes.)
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the
Colorado Army National Guard aviators who saved a life on one of
Colorado's most challenging peaks.
Earlier this year, a hiker was stranded on Crestone Peak, more than
14,000 feet above sea level. Flight for Life cannot reach that
altitude. Ground crews could not reach this hiker. The mission fell to
our Colorado Army National Guard aviators.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mike Antinora and Chief Warrant Officer 4
Josh Friederichs flew their Black Hawk helicopter at the limits of its
capabilities, hovering at 14,380 feet, while Sergeant Noah Jordan and
Staff Sergeant Jake Beehler worked the hoist, lowering 180 feet of
cable to reach where no one else could.
They brought that hiker home safely.
This is what our National Guard does not just in combat overseas but
here at home when no one else can answer the call.
I am proud to recognize Chief Warrant Officer Antinora, Chief Warrant
Officer Friederichs, Sergeant Jordan, Staff Sergeant Beehler, and
rescue technicians Gerrit Padgham and Steven Gosselin. Colorado is
safer because of their service.
{time} 1115
Recognizing C & J Cafe
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Juan
Agredano and his family, owners of C & J Cafe in Delta, Colorado, a
community institution that has served Western Slope families since the
1980s.
When I visited last month, I was welcomed the same way every customer
is: like family. This is no accident. It is the culture that Juan; his
wife, Robin; and their daughter, Jennifer, have built through decades
of showing up for their community day after day.
C & J Cafe is the kind of place that doesn't just feed people. It
brings them together.
Whether it is the legendary cinnamon rolls, said to be the largest in
Delta County, or simply the warmth at the door, the Agredanos have made
their restaurant a cornerstone of community life.
When the challenges of COVID threatened restaurants across the
country, Juan and Jennifer kept showing up. They kept serving their
neighbors, and their neighbors never forgot it.
[[Page H4694]]
I am proud to represent a district with families like the Agredanos
whose hard work, generosity, and commitment strengthen the communities
they call home.
Recognizing Grand Valley Power
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Grand
Valley Power as it celebrates 90 years of keeping the lights on in
Colorado's Third Congressional District.
In 1936, a small group of farmers in the Grand Valley could not get
electricity. The costs were too high, and the power lines simply didn't
reach that far. So, they did what western Coloradans do: They came
together to solve the problem themselves.
Neighbor by neighbor, they built what became Colorado's first, and
today its oldest, rural electric cooperative. Within a year,
electricity reached 250 homes and farms for the very first time. What
many Coloradans already took for granted transformed lives across Mesa
County.
Today, Grand Valley Power serves more than 18,000 members across the
county. It remains not for profit, member owned, and rooted in the same
cooperative spirit that inspired its founders nine decades ago.
Ninety years is a testament not only to a successful electric
cooperative but to the enduring power of neighbors working together to
strengthen their communities.
I am proud to recognize Grand Valley Power and everyone who carried
that mission forward.
Recognizing Dennis Webb
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dennis
Webb, who is retiring after nearly 20 years of covering the environment
and natural resources for the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
Out West, public lands are not an abstraction. They shape how people
work, ranch, hunt, and live. Dennis helped the people of the Western
Slope understand the policies that shaped those lands, from water
rights to grazing to wildfires and wildlife management.
His reporting earned the respect not only of readers across western
Colorado but of legislators and officials in Denver as well as here in
Washington, D.C.
Good journalism doesn't tell people what to think. It helps them
understand the issues well enough to think for themselves. Dennis did
that with clarity, fairness, and a deep understanding of the West.
Thoughtful local journalism is increasingly rare, and western
Colorado is better because Dennis Webb devoted his career to getting
the story right.
I wish Dennis a well-earned retirement, and I thank him for his
service to readers on the Western Slope.
Recognizing Patrick Morrissey
Mr. HURD of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Patrick
Morrissey, a Colorado Hall of Fame wrestler whose great achievement
came long after the wrestling mat.
Patrick was a Colorado State champion and an All-American, but in
2019, at just 48 years old, he was diagnosed with early-onset
Parkinson's disease. Rather than retreat, he leaned into the same
determination that defined him as an athlete.
In June 2024, Patrick joined a four-man crew to row 2,800 miles
across the Pacific Ocean, from California to Hawaii. For 41 days, he
battled towering waves, relentless winds, and the daily challenges of
Parkinson's before reaching the shores of Kauai.
Patrick became the first person with Parkinson's to row the mid-
Pacific. Along the way, he and his teammates raised more than $41
million for Parkinson's research.
Patrick's story reminds us that courage is not measured by the
obstacles that we face but by our determination to keep moving forward.
I am proud to represent Patrick Morrissey and his family, whose
example has inspired countless others.
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