[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17808]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RIBS TO OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ--COURTESY OF THE HOLTVILLE ATHLETIC CLUB

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 7, 2004

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to recognize the 
Holtville Athletic Club and the entire Holtville community for cooking 
1,000 pounds of ribs and sending them to our troops in Iraq, in the 
``Ribs to Iraq Project.'' I also want to give special thanks to the 
Naval Air Facility in El Centro for assisting in the coordination and 
transportation of the smoked BBQ pork ribs.
  The Holtville Athletic Club is a small, non-profit organization that 
is known in Imperial Valley for its Rib Cook-off Extravaganza that is 
enjoyed by visitors from all over the world each winter. The ``Ribs to 
Iraq Project'' started from a desire to thank our troops in Iraq for 
their commitment to our country. The project took about a year to 
implement. Twenty barbecues were built with the assistance of the Navy 
base. The ribs were completely pre-cooked, sauced and frozen by club 
members. Holtville citizens wrote letters to the soldiers that were 
included in the care package. The project ended up bringing an entire 
and grateful community together to participate in this project.
  The BBQ-Ribs were packaged and frozen for transportation via the USS 
Denver, USS Howard, and the USS Mobile Bay to the Middle East arriving 
in July of this year. The Athletic Club attached its own special 
message to each case of ribs: ``These specific ribs were prepared on 
barbecues built by the club with volunteer assistance of Navy 
specialists, who we welcome and embrace as a very special part of our 
community and heart. Please enjoy the enclosed ribs wherever they may 
find you.''
  I've seen my constituents show their appreciation to our troops in 
many ways. And this is just one example of a great community project 
that brings the residents together to accomplish an extraordinary goal.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Holtville Athletic Club for bringing the 
community of Holtville together in the ``Ribs to Iraq Project.'' I am 
sure the troops in Iraq were thankful for a little taste of homemade 
loving barbecue.

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