[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2414]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF RICK WYKOFF

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2012

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Foster City Councilmember 
Rick Wykoff for his decades of public service on the occasion of his 
retirement on December 5, 2011. He served on the City Council for the 
last ten years and was city manager from 1977-1994.
  I have known Rick for over 30 years and have witnessed his dedication 
to, and passion for, our community. He thrived in the many positions he 
has held over the years throughout California.
  Foster City is extraordinarily fortunate that Rick offered his 
experience as city manager, his wisdom and talent to the city council 
for the last decade. On his watch, the council oversaw multiple public 
and private development projects, among them the building of City Hall, 
the Teen Centre Vibe, the North Peninsula Jewish Community Center, the 
redevelopment of Miramar and Marlin Cove and the redevelopment of the 
Gilead Science Campus, the Pilgrim/Triton and Chess/Hatch projects. 
Everyone in Foster City has benefitted from Rick's outstanding work.
  Rick was born in Sacramento. He earned his Bachelor and Masters 
Degrees in Public Administration from San Diego State University and 
the University of Southern California respectively.
  Before attending college, Rick worked as a beach life guard for the 
United States Coast Guard from 1960-64. While attending San Diego State 
University, he became an administrative intern in Oceanside in San 
Diego County in February 1968. That was clearly where he caught the 
public service bug. The same year Rick became the administrative 
assistant to the city manager of Yorba Linda in Orange County where he 
stayed for two years. From 1970-73, he was assistant manager and 
administrative assistant in Buena Park, Orange County, until he became 
the manager for this city of 62,000 residents.
  In 1977 Rick moved north to the San Francisco Peninsula to assume his 
position as city manager of Foster City. He successfully dealt with 
past political and administrative turmoil and put in place a 
professional team that managed the needs of the city. Rick also served 
as manager of the Estero Municipal Improvement District and as 
executive director to the Redevelopment Agency.
  From 1994-95, he served as interim public works director of South San 
Francisco where he oversaw a freeway interchange and railroad grade 
separation. He returned to the department in 1997 as a special Projects 
coordinator. The same year he became interim director of Community 
Redevelopment in Morgan Hill and acting public works director in Daly 
City. During his time in Daly City, Mother Nature presented Rick with a 
special challenge: an ``El Nino'' that year with heavy rains, wind and 
mudslides made his work overseeing streets and storm drains no picnic, 
but of course he saw the city through this most difficult of times.
  From 1999-2000, Rick served as interim public works director in San 
Bruno. He was deeply involved in the negotiations regarding the BART 
station and the extension of underground lines through the city.
  Rick has also served on the boards of directors of numerous 
organizations including the Industrial Emergency Council, the ABAG Plan 
Corp., the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency and the San 
Mateo County Advance Life Support Joint Powers Authority. Additionally 
he has 30 years of experience as a volunteer fire fighter.
  Rick married his wife Judie 48 years ago and they raised two 
children, Carey and Dennis.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask this body to rise with me to honor the work of 
Rick Wykoff, my friend and an extraordinary public servant who has 
improved the lives of tens of thousands of Californians.

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