[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 3] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 3399-3400] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO AMBASSADOR RICHARD SKLAR ______ HON. ANNA G. ESHOO of california in the house of representatives Monday, February 9, 2009 Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Richard Sklar . . . Ambassador, engineer, business leader, innovator, dispute mediator, professor, negotiator's negotiator, civic leader and public servant, winemaker, NFL fan, loyal friend to so many and most importantly, exceedingly proud husband, father and grandfather. Dick Sklar passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of 74 on January 20, 2009, at his home in San Francisco after watching with great satisfaction President Obama's Inauguration with his beloved wife Barbara by his side. Touchingly, his hometown newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle noted, ``his death came the day after he received the highest noncitizen medal of honor from the Republic of Montenegro, for his role in helping the new country achieve independence.'' Dick is survived by his wife Barbara, his daughters Pamela Ball of San Francisco, Karen Wong King of Santa Rosa, sons Mark Sklar of Phoenix and Eric Sklar of St. Helena, eight beautiful grandchildren, son-in-law John Ball and daughters-in-law Erica and Marilyn Sklar. Dick was born on November 18, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. His father was an engineer and his family moved often while he was a young man. He was a graduate of Cornell University earning both a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Engineering. After serving in the United States Army, Dick founded and sold his first business, Allied Steel and Tractor Corporation, a Cleveland Ohio based manufacturing company. Cleveland is where he met the love of his life Barbara who is recognized in her own right as a brilliant artist and a civic leader. Dick Sklar was a friend and a mentor to many in public service, from Mayors to Governors to Members of Congress to Presidents. In 1976, Mayor Moscone recruited him to San Francisco to oversee the $1.5 billion sewer and wastewater treatment plant program and the Yerba Buena Center known as the Moscone Center. At the time Dick began his service to the City, it was under a building ban for non-performance. Senator Feinstein (then Mayor of San Francisco) appointed him to head the Public Utilities Commission. He was exceptionally successful in these projects and became known world wide as a leader who was pragmatic and fair, and who set aside bureaucratic nonsense, challenging those around him to think practically and strive for excellence and innovation in everything they did. Dick's projects consistently came in under budget and ahead of schedule. From 1983 to 1996, Dick served as President of O'Brien Kreitzberg and Associates (OKA). He developed the first integrated program management system now used industry- [[Page 3400]] wide to track spending, measure progress and improve accountability on public construction projects. During his tenure with OKA, the company built ten airports, light rail lines in major cities in the U.S. and facilities for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. In 1996, President Clinton wisely turned to Dick Sklar for help and appointed him first as Special Representative to the President in Bosnia after the Dayton Peace Accords. He then appointed him an Ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1999 and lastly as Special Representative of the President for the Southeast Europe Initiative from 1999 to 2001. Dick led the postwar economic recovery effort in the Balkans in coordination with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the European Union, focusing on industries critical to establishing a market economy to encourage investment. After five years in Europe, Dick and Barbara came home to the Bay Area in 2001 and this time it was the Governor of California, Gray Davis, who needed his expertise to help with California's energy crisis. Dick expedited construction of new power-generating facilities and helped keep the lights on for California. In recent years he consulted with transportation, engineering and construction firms in California and served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Montenegro. Dick Sklar was also known for his love of fine foods. He knew the menus of great restaurants around the world and could turn out great culinary delights out of his own kitchen. Scores of friends dined at his table in San Francisco, at his beloved home in the vineyard in Rutherford and at tables of restaurants around the world. Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me in honoring the extraordinary life and accomplishments of Richard Sklar and extend our sympathy to the family he loved so much. His decades of contributions to his community and his country stand as lasting legacies of a life lived well. How privileged I am to have known this magnificent man and to have had him as one of my dearest friends. He made our world better by contributing to it in unique ways with an unmatched passion for justice, integrity and decency. Those of us who knew him and loved him will miss him deeply all the days of our lives, and his life instructs each of us on what it means to be a true patriot. ____________________