[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19339]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO EDDIE BALL

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LYNN A. WESTMORELAND

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 24, 2009

  Mr. WESTMORELAND. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Eddie 
Ball, who retired as the director of the Emergency Management Agency of 
Coweta County, GA, in September 2008 after nearly 20 years of service.
  Mr. Ball shepherded the county's emergency response agency through an 
important time of growth and progress. He oversaw implementation of the 
county's 911 operating system, and he managed the day-to-day emergency 
response network. During his tenure, 911 calls in the county increased 
from less than 33,000 per year to more than 100,000 per year.
  As leader of the agency, Mr. Ball served on the front lines of saving 
lives and treasure. His agency provided the most basic and most 
important government service: keeping people safe.
  On occasion, the call to service would border on the bizarre. 
According to a 2006 article in the Newnan Times-Herald, Mr. Ball 
sometimes had to respond to Bigfoot sightings. He's even credited with 
coining the name ``Belt Road Booger'' after residents deluged county 
officials with reports of a large, hairy, two-legged critter roaming 
the Belt Road area on the west side of Newnan. (Mr. Ball theorized the 
``Booger'' was actually a local, eccentric, now-deceased man who roamed 
the roadside.)
  For his dedication to solving problems that ranged from the normal to 
the paranormal, Mr. Ball was recognized this year by the Georgia 
General Assembly, which noted his ``significant organizational and 
leadership talents, his remarkable patience and diplomacy, his keen 
sense of vision, and his sensitivity to the needs of the citizens.''
  I ask my colleagues in the House to join me in saluting Eddie Ball, 
the longest serving Emergency Management Agency director in the history 
of Coweta County. On behalf of the people of Georgia's Third 
Congressional District, I thank him for his service and I wish him 
health and happiness in his retirement.

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