[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13960]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JULIE HASQUET

  Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, I wish to recognize Julie Hasquet, my 
longtime press secretary and dedicated staff members, whose way with 
words, quick wit, and sharp pen has served me and the people of Alaska 
very well for over 9 years. Julie had a tall task working for my then 
new mayoral administration for the Municipality of Anchorage as we 
brought down blighted buildings, drove out drug dealers, and culled out 
the ``cat lady'' in an effort to clean up the city. Julie staged press 
events all over town with backdrops that included bulldozers, 
jackhammers, demolition crews and even a wrecking ball painted as a 
pumpkin to take down a dilapidated gas station one cold Halloween 
afternoon.
  A former television news reporter, Julie expertly guest hosted talk 
radio shows where she would interview and cajole her own guests, 
including me, to discuss politics, policy, police, and issues of the 
day with the ease of a well-seasoned pundit. She used those skills in 
the mayor's office and in the U.S. Senate to write more than 4,500 
press releases, thousands of tweets and texts, and to bring our office 
into the Facebook age with quips, quotes, and photos to tell the whole 
story as it was unfolding.
  Over the years I have watched with pride as Julie has balanced family 
life with civic duty, raising two smart, talented, daughters, Shelby 
and Savannah, participating in many charitable organizations, and 
volunteering at events while spending time with her many friends.
  Julie spends her spare time pursuing every kind of Alaskan activity 
from triathlons to target practice and scrapbooking to snow-machining. 
Julie's love of Alaska shines through everything she does and her 
ability to tell Alaskans their own story, in as few words as possible, 
is a rare talent indeed.
  While Julie may be leaving the wild world of politics now, or so she 
thinks, I commend her and thank her for each and every one of her well 
said words and a job extraordinarily well done.

                          ____________________