[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12610]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 REGARDING TRI-CITIANS OF THE YEAR DR. LEWIS ZIRKLE AND DR. SARA ZIRKLE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOC HASTINGS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 16, 2004

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to two constituents who are not only leaders in the State of Washington 
but are dedicated humanitarians that have positively impacted lives 
around the world.
  The husband and wife team of Dr. Lewis Zirkle and Dr. Sarah Zirkle 
was recently named Tri-Citians of the Year for devoting over 30 years 
to helping those less fortunate--both here at home and abroad. This 
award is presented once each year to an outstanding citizen of the 
TriCities area in Washington state.
  Dr. Lewis Zirkle is an orthopedic specialist who served as an Army 
surgeon in the Vietnam War. After the war, he made numerous return 
trips to Vietnam and other developing nations to help local health care 
providers establish more effective surgical techniques for treating 
fractures.
  In 1999, Dr. Zirkle founded the Surgical Implant Generation Network 
(SIGN) to help provide a system of training, hardware and follow-up 
assistance to orthopedic surgeons in developing countries. In just 5 
years, SIGN has developed over 42 projects that are operating around 
the world, which are supplied with surgical hardware from a state-of-
the-art manufacturing facility.
  Dr. Sara Zirkle also has a long list of accomplishments. As a 
developmental and behavioral pediatric specialist, she has been a 
strong advocate on behalf of children. She helped found the Child 
Sexual Abuse Clinic at Kadlec Medical Center in Richland, Washington 
and the Mid-Columbia Reading Foundation. She has received numerous 
awards and recognition for her work with abused children.
  The Zirkles exemplify the best of America. I am proud to have them as 
constituents in the Fourth District of Washington state and I know they 
will continue to devote their time to helping others.

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