[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[EX]
[Page 16943]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNITION OF THE 2004 OUTSTANDING FARM FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2004

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to 
rise today to extend congratulations to the Wendell Thomas Family for 
being selected the 2004 Outstanding Farm Family. The Thomas family has 
run an extremely successful farm in Northwest Florida for nearly 60 
years.
  Wendell's parents started the Thomas farm in 1945, and to this day 
his mother, Lizzie Kate, is still an active partner in the family 
business. Wendell began working at an early age, and after graduating 
high school in 1970 he became a full time employee in the family's 
operation. A year after that, he married Dwynette Lewis, and together 
they raised three daughters who have all contributed to the farm.
  In 1981, Wendell purchased an aircraft and shortly afterward received 
his certification to apply protective chemicals and fertilizers to the 
family's crops. In 1982, Wendell began running the farm full-time due 
to the decline in his father's health. Over these nearly 60 years, the 
Thomas family farm has expanded from one hundred to one thousand acres 
of cotton, peanuts, pasture, and woodland.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to 
offer my sincere commendation to a family that could serve as a role 
model to us all. A deep sense of work ethic and values has been 
instilled through all the generations of the Wendell Thomas Family. It 
is my hope that this family tradition continues for many generations to 
come.

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