[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28765]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




A TRIBUTE TO OREGON CATTLEMEN'S ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT SHARON LIVINGSTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GREG WALDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 30, 2007

  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise today to share with you 
and my colleagues the story of a remarkable woman and leader from 
eastern Oregon, Sharon Livingston. Sharon is the President of the 
Oregon Cattlemen's Association and a tremendous friend to rural 
America. When this week draws to a close, so too will Sharon's tenure 
as president. Before that occurs, I want to pay tribute to Sharon for 
the contributions she has made to an outstanding industry.
  Sharon embodies the best in rural Oregon frontier women; she loves 
the land, she embraces the Oregon ``can do'' spirit, and she values the 
dignity of everyone she meets. Sharon is a patriot with unflagging 
pride in her country. She is a great steward of the land, proud of her 
industry, and intent on doggedly defending the private property rights, 
water rights, and grazing rights of ranchers. Sharon leads her industry 
with assertiveness and kindness, always mindful that the American 
rancher raises the healthiest and highest quality beef in the world. 
She, like her fellow Oregon beef producers, places a very high priority 
on providing food of unsurpassed quality for dinning room tables around 
the world.
  Sharon's strong values were established at an early age, having grown 
up in the small community of Long Creek, OR, where she has lived for 
more than 60 years. The first three years of her life were spent living 
in a 2-room house on her grandmother's homestead. The water source for 
their house was a spring outside the front door and a path led to the 
bathroom. That property is still a part of her ranch and she values it 
far beyond the price it might bring on the open market.
  Madam Speaker, in addition to being a lifelong rancher, Sharon 
Livingston has also been a teacher and a coach, graduating from Eastern 
Oregon University following 12 years of school in Long Creek. As a 
teacher and coach, her skills as a trainer and motivator became her 
strengths as a leader in the ranching industry. She always does her 
homework, she works hard to understand complex issues, and she is adept 
at helping others to grasp the need to go in new directions.
  When I was in Burns, OR this summer to meet with ranchers who had 
their grazing land obliterated by devastating wildfires, Sharon was 
there to offer encouragement and to ensure that the needed relief was 
on its way. As you can imagine, Madam Speaker, with livelihoods in 
serious jeopardy, emotions can run high. Sharon was there as a voice of 
reason and a message of hope. She made a difference. Her 
straightforward ways, her openness, and her confidence in the future 
helped immensely to set us all at ease about dealing with the effects 
of the catastrophic fire.
  Her pride in her industry and her community is strong and deep, but 
she would tell you that her greatest pride and greatest joy is derived 
from her family. Tragically, she lost her husband, Fred Livingston, to 
cancer in 1992. Sharon married Fred in 1957. Sharon gives him high 
praise when she describes Fred as a cowboy, a calf roper, and a fine 
man.
  Sharon and Fred raised three children: Rilla, Clayton, and Fred John 
(FJ). Rilla and Clayton live in the Pendleton area, and FJ is Sharon's 
partner on the ranch. Sharon has four grandchildren whom she treasures. 
Sharon loves her ranch, her cattle, and her horses. She says that her 
heart swells with pride when her oldest grandson rides and helps with 
the cattle. She takes great joy and satisfaction seeing yet another 
generation value the lifestyle that has meant so much to her. She looks 
forward to the very near future when her twin granddaughters and 
another grandson learn to ride and rope. You can be sure that Sharon 
will be there to teach them.
  Madam Speaker, I am so proud of my friend, Sharon Livingston. She is 
a woman of her word and a woman of conviction. You only have to meet 
Sharon once to know that she has a keen intellect and a caring heart 
that makes her a natural born leader. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
saluting this amazing woman who has served so ably as president of the 
Oregon Cattlemen's Association.

                          ____________________