[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2401]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO STEVE GILMORE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 1, 2006

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with you my 
pride in Steve Gilmore, a member of my staff who is leaving our service 
to assume new responsibilities as the Vice President of Governmental 
Affairs for the Chamber of Medford/Jackson County.
  A little over 7 years ago, I had the good fortune to invite Steve 
Gilmore to join my staff in my district office in Medford, OR. When 
Steve became a member of our team, he was a recent college graduate 
with incredible enthusiasm, a passion for the operations of government, 
and an intense interest in the history of our great Nation. He was 
highly motivated with a deep and unselfish desire to help others. Those 
are among the many qualities that have enabled Steve to serve the 
constituents of the Second Congressional District with such 
effectiveness.
  Steve, a former student body president at Eastern Oregon University, 
brought significant leadership skills to his duties throughout his 7 
year career with the U.S. House of Representatives. His fellow workers 
and my constituents sought his counsel because he had the ability to 
weigh large quantities of diverse information and arrive at commonsense 
solutions to complex problems.
  Steve has approached any and all tasks presented to him with 
enthusiasm, good cheer, and a quiet determination to get positive 
results. He leaves with a file overflowing with notes and cards of 
sincere appreciation from Oregonians he assisted. As all of my 
colleagues know, people seeking our assistance are often frustrated, 
distraught, and discouraged. Steve has been particularly good at 
helping those people to have confidence that we can work through their 
difficulties to make the system more responsive to their needs.
  Always a gentleman, Steve's innate kindness has always been reflected 
in his interactions with his fellow staff members and those I 
represent. Steve has taken very seriously our commitment to be 
compassionate and responsive in fulfilling our mission to assist our 
constituents through difficulties they confront with our government.
  I appointed Steve as my special projects coordinator and my director 
of constituent services because I knew I could count on him to 
wholeheartedly tackle special issues and cases that arise in a vast 
territory like Oregon's Second Congressional District. I'm confident 
that Steve will do an outstanding job of productively growing the 
involvement the Chamber of Medford/Jackson County in the political 
process.
  I am sorry to see Steve leave, but am pleased that he has been 
offered this great new opportunity. I thank him deeply for his 
exemplary service. Mr. Speaker, I know that you and my colleagues join 
me in wishing Steve and his lovely wife, Mindy, the best of success in 
this new avenue of service.

                          ____________________