[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 23638]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO VIRGINIA SCOTT THOMAS

 Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, today, I honor an important 
Floridian and a proud American. Virginia Scott Thomas was a loving wife 
and mother, a passionate volunteer, and a trailblazer for women in 
Republican politics--I am very thankful that she was a constituent of 
mine. Sadly, she died this past month--but her legacy of hard work and 
dedication to good lives on.
  Virginia Thomas should be commended for the work she put into 
creating the Bay County Republican Women's Club. As part of her 
volunteer work for the Republican Party, Virginia Thomas opened her 
home to numerous GOP candidates--many of them to kick off their 
campaigns. Her energy and hospitality were well known, and Republicans 
from Ronald Reagan to Charlie Crist had the pleasure of being welcomed 
into her home. Candidates always spoke about their ideas and vision in 
front of her now-famous raised fireplace hearth and her warm 
hospitality made her many friends.
  Before calling Florida home, Virginia Thomas, a Birmingham, AL, 
native, made history in her State. In 1943, she joined and became part 
of the first group of women Marines in the State of Alabama. She 
completed basic training in both South Carolina and Georgia and was 
then sent to the U.S. Marine Corps base in El Centro, CA, to serve as a 
supply officer. There in California, she met her future husband, Marine 
L.E. ``Tommy'' Thomas, and after the war ended, they headed for 
Birmingham. Eventually, she and her family moved to Florida, where 
Virginia Thomas became very active in their community.
  Virginia Thomas will not be forgotten by the generations of 
Floridians that came to know her and her lively spirit. And because of 
her volunteerism and good work throughout more than 40 years in the Bay 
County area, she will be remembered long into the future. We will miss 
this good Floridian. Yet we know that her legacy will be carried on by 
her family and friends. The good works of Virginia Scott Thomas will 
live on.

                          ____________________