[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9766-9767]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING RUSSEL EFIRD

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 19, 2013

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Russel Efird as 
he is honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Fresno County 
Farm Bureau (FCFB) for his contributions to agriculture. His decades of 
service and dedication to the farming community are to be greatly 
commended.
  Russel's passion for farming began at a young age when he would help 
on his parents' farm in Caruthers, California. The Efird family has run 
a successful farming operation for over 70 years. They are hard-working 
and understand what it takes to produce quality crops.
  Russel joined the FCFB Young Farmers and Ranchers Program when he was 
a teenager. Russel has been a member of the FCFB for over 18 years, and 
has served in various leadership positions within the bureau which 
ultimately earned him a presidency from 2006-2008. As president of the 
Farm Bureau, Russel did a great job leading the organization. His focus 
was on immigration and water which are two issues that affect the 
agriculture industry daily. Russel's knowledge coupled with his love 
for agriculture, make him a great advocate for the farming community.
  In addition to all of his work at the Farm Bureau, Russel has been a 
member of various boards including the Western Cotton Growers 
Association, Fresno County Fire Protection District Board of Directors, 
Laton Co-op Cotton Gin Board, and the Caruthers Unified School 
District. Additionally he was a graduate of the Ag Leadership Program's 
Class X.
  Farming is a huge part of Russel's life, but family is most 
important. He has been married

[[Page 9767]]

to his wife, Kathleen, for almost 40 years, and they have four grown 
children: Matthew, John, Adam, and Elizabeth.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Russel 
Efird for the contributions he has made to the Central Valley and the 
entire State of California. He serves as pillar in the community, and I 
thank him for his hard work and devotion to maintaining Fresno County's 
valuable agricultural strength.

                          ____________________