[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO PUNCH WOODS, RETIRING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE TUCSON 
                          COMMUNITY FOOD BANK

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2003

  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Punch Woods, 
the retiring Executive Director of the Tucson Community Food Bank who 
has served his community in this important role for the past 25 years.
  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to imagine what Tucson would be like without 
the contributions Punch has made to helping people who are hungry and 
needy. Just as important, however, has been his work to raise the 
awareness of the rest of the community, who do not suffer from hunger, 
of what it means to those who do. An entire generation of school 
children has grown up in southern Arizona bringing cans of food to 
school, to their Girl Scout meetings and even to birthday parties 
because of Punch's efforts. Now, many of them are parents themselves 
and are raising their kids to do the same.
  I've had the privilege of serving on the Community Food Bank Board 
for some 20 years now. I don't know if I have contributed much to the 
work of the Food Bank over the years, but I know how much it has 
personally benefited to me. It has been so rewarding to be associated 
with an organization that is both compassionate and practical and to 
understand these are not mutually exclusive terms. We always say that 
we wish the Community Food Bank didn't have to be in business, and that 
is true. But hunger and poverty are--sadly--facts of life in our 
community today, and it is heartening to know that the Community Food 
Bank has been there to serve our families and neighbors in need with an 
ever-increasing array of services. The very fact that Punch and I--one 
Democrat and one Republican--could work so well together to tackle the 
problems of hunger in our community is proof that there is no 
partisanship in these issues. But none of this could happen without his 
vision, dedication, determination and the personal sacrifices that he 
has made over the years.
  Mr. Speaker, the Tucson Community Food Bank will not only survive but 
will grow even stronger because of the base that Punch Woods has built 
for it.

                          ____________________