[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14462]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO LYNN CLANCY

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I recognize and honor my friend Lynn 
Clancy, who retired in January after 20 years of service as my State 
director. He is a friend to me, and he is a friend to North Dakota.
  Over two decades as my State director, Lynn touched the lives of 
thousands of North Dakotans. He handled countless casework requests and 
hundreds of speeches and appearances on my behalf. I could not have had 
a better ambassador.
  Twenty years in itself is a lifetime of public service, but the 20 
years that Lynn spent with me was really the culmination of a much 
longer career in service to the public. This is a man who genuinely 
lives on the tenant that it is best to do good to your fellow man. He 
devoted his life to helping other people.
  Not many know this, but when Lynn joined my staff after my 1986 
election, he was working as the right-hand man to the Catholic bishop 
of North Dakota, overseeing operations in the diocese. And that was 
after a long career serving North Dakota's farmers. So he came to work 
for me with an already long history of public service.
  That public service began after Lynn graduated with an education 
degree from the State college in his hometown of Valley City. His 
degree in hand, Lynn left North Dakota for Turkey and England to teach 
high school on U.S. military bases.
  After returning home to North Dakota, he went to work for the North 
Dakota Farmers Union, first as its education director and then 
assistant secretary-treasurer. About that time, he was elected to the 
North Dakota legislature as a representative from his hometown of 
Valley City.
  Lynn later received an appointment as North Dakota's deputy 
commissioner of agriculture, before finally going on to work for the 
diocese. And that is where I found him.
  Part of what drives Lynn is his affinity for the land, and his 
affinity for those people who are the stewards of the land. In North 
Dakota, those stewards are our farmers and our good friends, the first 
Americans.
  Lynn shares a special bond with North Dakota's Native Americans. 
Leaders of the American Indian community liken Lynn's special qualities 
to that of a tribal elder. Over the years, he worked tirelessly to 
ensure that our tribes had equal access to all parts of our Federal and 
State government. His goal was always to make sure Native Americans 
were equal before the law.
  In the 1990s Lynn was instrumental to the success of the Walking 
Shield Housing Project, which helped alleviate a housing crisis on the 
reservations of Spirit Lake, Fort Berthold, Standing Rock, and Turtle 
Mountain.
  When he told me about his plans for retirement, Lynn said one of his 
greatest joys has been working closely with Native Americans, learning 
about their culture and experiencing their hospitality. So while it is 
true that Lynn is a naturally gentle and soft-spoken man, it is also 
true that North Dakota's Native Americans may not have a fiercer 
advocate than Lynn Clancy.
  Lynn's devotion to the family farmer started with his own experiences 
on the farm where he lived and worked as a young man. Over the years, 
from his time with the Farmers Union to his leadership in the State 
agriculture department, Lynn became the ``go to'' person in North 
Dakota for any farm-related concern. Whether it was helping one farmer 
cut through the bureaucratic red tape, or helping organize a massive 
farm rally, Lynn showed patience, persistence, and skill.
  Farmers and Native Americans shared that special place in Lynn's 
heart with one more thing--Marketplace for Entrepreneurs. Never were 
Lynn's passion, creativity, and dedication more evident than with 
Marketplace.
  Today, Marketplace is North Dakota's signature initiative to develop 
the State's economy--the largest and longest running business 
development effort in North Dakota. But in 1988, it had much humbler 
origins. North Dakota farmers were suffering through a searing drought. 
The auction barns were buzzing while the grain silos went silent. 
Nothing was in as short a supply in North Dakota as hope.
  Lynn gave our farmers hope. Lynn was the force behind making 
Marketplace possible year after year, creating an opportunity for 
farmers and others from around the State to gather and think of new 
ways to update their operations to reach new markets--and ultimately 
stay in business and stay on the land. Lynn's vision and determination 
were vital to the eventual recovery of many farmers and to making 
Marketplace the enormous success that it is today. That first 
Marketplace drew about 800 people. Today, thanks to Lynn, we draw more 
than 10,000 people. It is a tremendous success.
  Hearing all this may lead you to ask how a man could devote so much 
of his life to service. The answer is that Lynn has faith. It is 
central to his life. He serves as an ordained Catholic deacon in the 
Bismarck parish. In March, he was appointed to the Rural Life Committee 
of the North Dakota Conference of Churches. And even in retirement, 
Lynn and his wife, Janice, are working long hours as volunteers.
  In both his public life and his personal friendships, Lynn's 
fellowship, devotion, and loyalty set examples for us all. Whenever I 
needed him, he was there. Whenever North Dakota needed him, he was 
there. He lives his life in service, making other people's lives 
better.

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