[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16329-16330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARREEN CASPER

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity today to pay 
tribute to a wonderful woman, dedicated public servant and loyal friend 
Marreen Casper. Marreen is retiring from my staff at the end of the 
year and she will be very missed.
  Marreen joined my staff in 1999 and has been a shining star. She has 
tackled some of the most difficult assignments that have faced my Utah 
Senate

[[Page 16330]]

Offices. She started as a Federal grants coordinator and caseworker. 
However, when a need arose to fill a very important position in my 
organization, she willingly sold her house, and packed up and moved to 
St. George, UT to become my Southern Utah Field Director.
  Marreen has filled this position with dogged determination, and a 
noteworthy attention to details. She quickly immersed herself into the 
community and became a true Southern Utahn. She was always available to 
meet with and listen to the citizens of this area of our State. She has 
attended literally hundreds of local government meetings, and discussed 
the issues affecting Southern Utah with many mayors, county commission 
and council members, and community leaders every day she served. She 
has such a warm demeanor and accepting personality that people from all 
walks of life and positions felt comfortable to discuss with Marreen 
the issues important to them, and know that she would try to do 
something to help. She has made friends in every nook and cranny of 
southern Utah and earned the respect of many.
  One aspect of her job that many do not realize, is the travel she 
undertook to fulfill her duties to the best of her ability. Marreen's 
field area includes one of the most remote and unpopulated areas in the 
continental United States. Traveling in her area can get very harrowing 
at times, but Marreen never let it stop her from doing her job. She has 
traveled the icy roads in the dead of winter, attended outdoor meetings 
in the searing heat, and even crashed on an ATV she was riding on for 
an event that sent her to the Emergency Room.
  And some of the issues Marreen has worked on might seem trivial to 
some, but have long-ranging impacts on rural Utah. These issues have 
ranged from prairie dogs, desert tortoises, and Mexican wolves; to 
fighting with the Army Corps of Engineers over whether a dry wash is a 
``navigable body of water.'' I am not sure that she will miss the 
tedious nature of some of these issues, but I am certain she will miss 
the people in the many communities she worked with to find solutions to 
the problems.
  There has been no assignment ever given to Marreen that she did not 
fulfill willingly and with a great determination to see it through. In 
fact, Marreen has undertaken one of the most tedious, yet important 
projects every year the Hatch Family Christmas Card. This is a project 
I am certain she would like to have run from, yet year after year she 
planned, organized, and ensured that this card was sent to thousands of 
Utahns helping me stay in touch with so many constituents. For this 
seemingly thankless task, I want to sincerely convey my appreciation to 
her for her wonderful assistance that has meant so much to me and to 
the many who received it.
  Although Marreen has accomplished many great things in her 
professional life perhaps her greatest accomplishments have come 
because of her wonderful partnership with her husband Ron, and her 
loving and tender care of her 5 children and 22 grandchildren. She 
dearly loves her family and expresses it often. She sincerely strives 
to be at every important function in the lives of her family and is 
often traveling great distances so she can be there for the noteworthy 
milestones.
  She has also made her belief in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints central to her life and has served countless neighbors and 
friends through the goodness of her heart. In fact, when other folks 
might think their days of working with the youth in church service are 
over, Marreen accepted a call from her local Bishop to lead the Young 
Women's organization in her Ward. She then spent several years 
mentoring and helping these young women in various ways and through her 
beautiful example.
  I am truly grateful for the tremendous service Marreen Casper has 
given to me, to her community, and to our great State. I will miss 
Marreen greatly but know that life holds many exciting and wonderful 
new opportunities for her to enjoy. I want to wish Marreen the very 
best in retirement and want her to know that I will be forever grateful 
for her good work and loyal friendship. May Heavenly Father bless 
Marreen and her family for the honorable person she is and the service 
she has rendered to so many.

                          ____________________