[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2855-2856]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       TRIBUTE TO GARRETT WALTON

 Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, today I wish to discuss the power 
of volunteerism and how one person can--in the truest sense--make a 
lasting difference in the world.
  The volunteer spirit helps to keep society civil; volunteers give of 
themselves in a selfless manner. That spirit is exemplified by the acts 
of one of my own constituents, Mr. Garrett Walton.
  Garrett Walton and volunteerism seem to be synonymous with one 
another.

[[Page 2856]]

  When Hurricane Ivan ravaged northwest Florida in September of 2004, 
Walton, a former attorney-turned-developer put his career on hold, and 
took on a full-time volunteer role to help an entire region of our 
State recover.
  While the eye of the storm came ashore at Gulf Shores, AL, its most 
severe winds hit the Florida counties of Santa Rosa and Escambia. Those 
most damaging of winds, exceeding 140 miles per hour, were a part of a 
colossal hurricane that triggered more than 100 tornadoes, and also 
brought a 13-foot storm surge.
  Roughly 75,000 homes were damaged; 50,000 people were displaced; and 
of all of the damaged homes, 37,000 of them belonged to families whose 
household incomes totaled less than $30,000 a year.
  Garrett helped to lead a group of civic-minded citizens that met in 
each others' homes to discuss how they could rebuild the community.
  What grew out of that was a volunteer organization known as REBUILD 
Northwest Florida. It was a grassroots effort that grew into something 
extraordinary. More than 4,000 volunteers have contributed close to a 
quarter of a million hours of volunteer service. Garrett has himself 
contributed close to 5,000 hours of service.
  As of the first week of this year, REBUILD had completed more than 
1,350 projects. And as recently as this month, January of 2007, Mr. 
Walton has continued his relentless quest to rebuild communities in 
northwest Florida.
  With the help of a few other volunteers, including Carolyn Appleyard, 
Miles Anderson, and Mark Ramos, this small contingent has taken it upon 
themselves to help many of their fellow Floridians pick up their lives 
after this awful natural disaster. Ivan caused widespread devastation; 
and as one of Florida's most deadly and costly storms, we knew the 
recovery effort would be long and arduous. I commend Garrett Walton for 
rising to the challenge.
  He put others ahead of himself--and not just for a day, a week, or a 
month, but for several years now. Thank you, Garrett, for your 
dedication to the people of Florida. You are an exemplar of the 
volunteer spirit, and make us all very proud to be called 
Floridians.

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