[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11081-11082]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               A TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH AND VICTORIA COTCHETT

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me in paying 
tribute to my dear friends, Victoria and Joseph Cotchett of 
Hillsborough, California. These two extraordinary people are being 
honored for their civic involvement in the Bay Area by the Volunteer 
Center of San Mateo County with the prestigious ``Very Important 
Volunteer Award'' (VIVA).
  Mr. Speaker, both Cotchett's are deeply involved in a wide spectrum 
of community activities and give freely of their time and resources to 
numerous community organizations. Victoria serves on the advisory board 
of many woman's groups, including the Woman's Protective Services of 
San Mateo County and Families in Transition. She is a founding director 
of the Wiegand Museum of Art at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, 
and she previously served on the boards of the San Mateo County 
Hospital Foundation and the Peninsula Humane Society.
  As a longtime supporter of the arts, Victoria is a member of the 
Board of Directors of the President's Advisory Committee on the Arts of 
the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts here in Washington, DC, and 
she is currently leading an effort to develop a Children's Film 
Festival in association with the Sundance Film Festival.
  A former Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, a JAG Officer, and a 
former Special Forces paratrooper officer, Joe Cotchett is a graduate 
of California Polytechnic College. He earned his law degree from the 
University of California's Hastings College of Law. Joe was recognized 
as one of the ``100 Most Influential Lawyer in America,'' by the news 
media and in 1990 was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by Trial Lawyers 
for Public Justice. He is a

[[Page 11082]]

leader of numerous professional organizations, is the author of several 
books on legal practice, and is a past officer of the California State 
Bar.
  Mr. Speaker, Joe's record of commitment to our community is equally 
as distinguished as that of his wife. He is director of the Bay Meadows 
Foundation, Disability Rights Advocates, and a Commissioner on the 
State Parks Commission. He also serves as Director of the University of 
California's Hastings College of Law, President of the San Mateo Boys 
and Girls Club, and Chairman of the Heart Fund Finance for the San 
Mateo County Heart Association.
  Mr. Speaker, Victoria and Joe are proud parents of two girls and 
represent the very best of our many volunteer citizens on the 
Peninsula. I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to these 
two outstanding community leaders and congratulating them on receiving 
this prestigious award.

                          ____________________