[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17129]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING RICHARD H. (DICK) PLAND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2012

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor 
Tuolumne County Supervisor Richard H. (Dick) Pland on his retirement 
from the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors and to thank him for his 
dedicated, life-long spirit of community service.
  Richard Pland has been a resident of Tuolumne County for 53 years; 
and throughout his life in Tuolumne County, Dick has served with 
distinction in both the private and public sectors.
  Dick is well known and respected throughout the state of California 
for his knowledge and contributions to the forest industry. In 41 years 
of private service in the forest industry, 38 of those were in Tuolumne 
County. During his forestry career, Dick was a member of TuCARE and the 
California Licensed Foresters Association. He also served as a Director 
of the California Forestry Association, President of the Sierra Cascade 
Logging Conference, and received the 1990 California ``Logger of the 
Year'' award.
  Dick's private sector contributions also included 15 years of service 
as a Director of El Capitan Bank, and his legacy of leadership within 
the public sector began early when Dick served as a Platoon Leader with 
the United States Marine Corps. While balancing his career in forestry 
with raising a family, Dick still found the time to serve for 30 years 
on the Tuolumne County Board of Education.
  Mr. Pland is wrapping up a 16-year run as the District 5 
representative on the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors. During his 
time on the Board, Supervisor Pland was frequently called upon to bring 
common sense and effective leadership to some of the most difficult 
challenges facing the County, such as the decision to privatize 
Tuolumne General Hospital; advocating for sound budgetary goals and 
policies helping to navigate the County through ``The Great 
Recession''; chairing numerous Board Committees aimed at improving 
County land use and regulatory policies; creating the Tuolumne County 
Economic Development Authority; establishing the Board's Natural 
Resources Committee; and championing healthy forest practices within 
the Stanislaus National Forest to promote the long-term health and 
sustainability of the forest as well as to reinvigorate forest-based 
jobs. With such accomplishments, it is easy to understand why Dick was 
selected to receive the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce's 
``Excellence in Government Award'' in 1999.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring Tuolumne County Supervisor 
Dick Pland on his retirement and thanking him for his exemplary 
leadership, service to the community, and his time on the Board of 
Supervisors.

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