[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20462]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




THE HONORABLE SANDRA S. BECKWITH BECOMES FIRST WOMAN CHIEF JUDGE OF THE 
         U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 30, 2004

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Judge Sandra S. 
Beckwith, who on Monday, October 4, 2004 will become the first woman to 
hold the position of chief judge for the U.S. District Court of the 
Southern District of Ohio.
  Landmark achievements are nothing new for Judge Beckwith. Born on a 
military base in Norfolk, Virginia while her father served in the 
United States Navy, she grew up in Cincinnati hoping to follow in the 
footsteps of her grandfather, Reed A. Shank, who was the physician for 
the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Bengals and the University of 
Cincinnati athletic teams. After beginning in the pre-med program at 
the University of Cincinnati, Judge Beckwith later changed to pre-law 
at the suggestion of her father.
  Judge Beckwith graduated from the University of Cincinnati's William 
Howard Taft College of Law with honors and received the Betty Kuhn 
Memorial Prize for the top woman graduate. She started practicing law 
in Harrison, Ohio with her father, Charles L. Shank. In 1977, she began 
a series of career milestones as she was appointed, and later elected, 
as the first woman to serve on the Hamilton County Municipal Court. 
Judge Beckwith has been the first woman elected to the Hamilton County 
Court of Common Pleas, Division of Domestic Relations; appointed to the 
Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners (and the first woman 
elected Chairman by her fellow Commissioners); and the first woman 
elected to the Hamilton County Commissioners. While serving as a 
Hamilton County Commissioner, Judge Beckwith practiced law with the 
respected Cincinnati firm of Graydon Head & Ritchey.
  A leader on the critical issues of domestic violence, child support 
and family law, Judge Beckwith serves on the board of Tender Mercies 
and the Cincinnati Red Cross and chairs the board of the Collaborative 
Law Center. Previously, she served on the boards of United Way of 
Cincinnati; Great Rivers Girl Scouts Council, and remains an ex-officio 
member of the University of Cincinnati College of Law Board of 
Visitors.
  All of us in the Cincinnati area congratulate Judge Beckwith on this 
prestigious honor. We look forward to her continued leadership.

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