[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21283]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING RICHARD KUCKENBECKER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and 
congratulate Richard Kuckenbecker upon being named by the Madera 
District Chamber of Commerce as a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award 
Honoree. Mr. Kuckenbecker will be recognized on Wednesday, August 26, 
2009 at the Fifth Annual Lifetime Achievement Awards and Installation 
Dinner.
  Richard Kuckenbecker was born in Sanger, California. At the age of 
five, he began to spend time in his father's business, Kuckenbecker 
Tractor Company. As a young man, he would assist by sweeping the 
floors, cleaning the lavatory and completing tasks that needed to be 
done around the shop. Upon graduating from high school, Mr. 
Kuckenbecker attended Fresno State, where he played baseball. Just shy 
of completing his Bachelor's Degree, he left school and returned to the 
family business. Mr. Kuckenbecker was twenty-one years old when he took 
over Kuckenbecker Tractor Company, he was the youngest tractor dealer 
in the nation. During college he met Lynn Bashian, and in May 1964 they 
were married and promptly moved to Madera from Fresno. Kuckenbecker 
Trucking Company has been in the family for sixty-five years. Since Mr. 
Kuckenbecker took the reigns the business has changed locations and 
expanded to include a dealership in Fresno in 1982.
  Mr. Kuckenbecker has always been dedicated to his community. He is a 
founding member and President of the Madera County Ag Boosters, serves 
on the board of the California State University, Fresno Ag One. He is a 
member of the Far West Equipment Dealers Association, National 
Association of Farm Equipment Dealers, Ford Motor Company Dealer 
Council, Madera Historical Society. Mr. Kuckenbecker served as a judge 
for the Fresno Bee Excellence in Business award. He has also won the 
Madera District Fair Blue Ribbon award. For his civic duty, he served 
on the Madera Planning Commission. For all that he has done for the 
community, Mr. Kuckenbecker was selected as the first Madera District 
Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Person of the Year. He has received 
the Fresno County Farm Bureau Distinguished Service award and the 
Fresno Bee Excellence in Business Award for Agriculture.
  Mr. Kuckenbecker and his wife Lynn have three children and five 
grandchildren, with another grandchild on the way. He continues to own 
and operate Kuckenbecker Trucking Company in Madera and Fresno.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Richard 
Kuckenbecker upon being honored as the Madera Chamber of Commerce 2009 
Lifetime Achievement Award. I invite my colleagues to join me in 
wishing Mr. Kuckenbecker many years of continued success.

                          ____________________