[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10845-10846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   TRIBUTE TO FATHER WILLIAM HULTBERG

 Mr. CASEY. Madam President, today I wish to honor Father 
William Hultberg, a very special priest from my home State of 
Pennsylvania. Known to many simply as ``Father Bill,'' he is a member 
of the Oblates of St. Francis DeSales and has provided both his country 
and his Pennsylvania community with a lifetime of service as a 
spiritual and religious counselor. Saturday, July 16, 2011, will mark 
his 80th birthday.
  To those who know him, Father Bill is a man whose commitment to 
spirituality, concern for his fellow man, and sense of service is 
virtually unparalleled. After earning his bachelor's degree in 
education and Spanish from LaSalle University and his master's degree 
in education and guidance from Niagara University, Father Bill began 
his lifelong commitment to country and community with his chaplain 
service in both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. He retired as a lieutenant 
colonel in 1991 after 35 years of exemplary service. During his time as 
a Navy Chaplain with the Marines, he received the Bronze Star Medal 
with a ``Combat V'' for valor. As an Active-Duty chaplain with the U.S. 
Army, he was awarded four Meritorious Service Medals for his efforts in 
developing and implementing alcohol and drug prevention programs for 
servicemembers.

[[Page 10846]]

  Father Bill's commitment to providing spiritual and religious 
counseling to those suffering from alcohol and drug addictions 
continues to this day. As a certified pastoral and drug addiction 
counselor at Caron Treatment Center in Wernersville, PA, Father Bill 
has offered spiritual guidance and an understanding of the 12-step 
spirituality of recovery to addicts and their families. His efforts 
over his 24 years of service to Caron have been central in providing 
those who suffer from addiction with the necessary tools to achieve 
sobriety and have truly left their mark on the Caron community. To this 
point, his unique Sunday services have become an honored, albeit 
mandatory, tradition at Caron. Described by some as an ``evangelical 
rally,'' Father Bill integrates 12-step traditions, elements of 
Christian worship, and other material at these services to provide 
opportunities for those in recovery and their families to share their 
pain and hope with one another as they struggle with addiction.
  Throughout his career, Father Bill has also been a beacon of hope to 
those suffering from HIV/AIDS. His development and implementation of a 
spiritual program for those afflicted with the disease and his 
contribution to Caron's HIV retreat weekends have provided comfort and 
guidance to many. Not only have these efforts had an immeasurable 
impact in Pennsylvania, but they have also garnered Father Bill 
national recognition in the form of the Ryan White Youth Service Award, 
a national awards program recognizing leaders for reaching out to 
support youth in the prevention of HIV.
  I would like to join the Caron Treatment Center's community in 
wishing Father Bill a very happy 80th birthday this weekend and to 
thank him for his lifetime of service to both the Commonwealth and the 
country. I, and many others, wish him many more years of health and 
happiness as he celebrates this milestone.

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