[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7534-7535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE 2013 HONOREES OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY FEDERATION OF 
                         CITIZENS' ASSOCIATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 7, 2014

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the Fairfax County 
Federation of Citizens' Associations and the honorees of its 64th 
Annual Awards Banquet. The Fairfax County Federation of Citizens 
Associations is a coalition of civic and homeowners associations from 
across Fairfax County. Each year, the Federation honors a few select 
individuals for their extraordinary contributions to our community. As 
a former two-term President of the Federation, I understand that those 
who volunteer their time, energies, and talents to civic activities 
play a role in making Fairfax County one of the best places in the 
nation in which to live, work and raise a family. I am honored to 
recognize the following individuals for their service to the community:
  2013 Citizen of the Year: Janyce Hedetniemi. Ms. Hedetniemi's service 
to Fairfax County has included positions on a wide variety of important 
boards and commissions. Since January 2013, she has served as a Member 
At-Large of the Fairfax County Planning Commission. Before that, she 
served as a Member At-Large of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board. 
She is a member of the Fairfax County Community Revitalization and 
Redevelopment Advisory Group. Ms. Hedetniemi was the Braddock District 
representative to the Fairfax County Transportation Advisory Commission 
for nine years and chaired the Commission from 2008 to 2010. She was a 
member of the Tysons Land Use Task Force and Vice-Chair of the Task 
Force Steering Committee, which helped formulate new comprehensive plan 
language for Tysons. She chaired two Fairfax County Bond Referendum 
Committees, has been President of the Oak Hill Citizens Association 
since 1997, and served as President of the Braddock District Council 
for two years. Professionally, she is an expert in community relations 
and enjoyed a distinguished career at the National Institutes of 
Health.
  2013 Citation of Merit: Tena Bluhm. Ms. Bluhm was appointed to the 
Fairfax County Commission on Aging in 2004 and has chaired the 
Commission since 2007. Tena has been instrumental in increasing the 
Commission's presence and influence in Fairfax County through speaking 
on behalf of older adults and the issues of aging before elected 
officials of both Fairfax County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. She 
has educated older adults about services provided by Fairfax County and 
sought ways to make the county aging-friendly. Ms. Bluhm was elected to 
her homeowners association's board in 2000 and in 2005 became its 
president.
  She is a member of the Braddock District Council, where she raised 
attention to aging issues by organizing a seminar about services 
available to older adults in Fairfax County. Ms. Bluhm worked for 45 
years as a Home Care nurse and in 2008 was named Lady Fairfax for the 
Braddock District. She is now retired and resides with her husband, 
Ray, in Fairfax.
  2013 Citation of Merit: Kathy Kaplan. Kathy Kaplan is an author, 
publisher, artist, naturalist, and activist who has lived in Reston for 
31 years. Her novel, ``The Dog of Knots'', was recognized by the 
Association of Jewish Libraries and the Anti-Defamation League. Ms. 
Kaplan has worked as an interpretive naturalist, conducted workshops in 
art and bookmaking for youth camps and schools, and sculpted a bronze 
relief for the September 11 Memorial at Freedom Grove at Brown's Chapel 
in Reston. As co-chair of the Residential, Urban Design, and Livability 
workgroup for RCA Reston 2020, she wrote the Vision for Herndon Monroe 
Station area and worked on several alternate park designs for Reston

[[Page 7535]]

Town Center North. Ms. Kaplan was appointed Chair of the Fairfax County 
Federation of Citizens Associations' Library Committee in August 2013 
to review proposed changes to the county library system and was named 
2013 Citizen of the Year by the Reston Citizens Association for her 
work in library advocacy.
  2013 Special Gratitude Award Honorees: U.S. Representative James 
Moran, U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, Virginia Delegate James Scott. 
The Federation also will honor three Northern Virginia legislators, who 
are retiring this year after distinguished careers in public service. 
Representatives Moran and Wolf have served the residents of our region 
for more than 30 years, and I have been pleased to partner with them, 
first as Chairman of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and then as a 
Member of Congress, to champion the interests of Northern Virginia and 
the Commonwealth. Delegate Scott served the residents of our community 
for more than 40 years, including 14 years representing the Providence 
District on the Board of Supervisors prior to his service in the 
General Assembly.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking these 
incredible individuals and in congratulating them on being honored by 
the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens' Associations. Civic 
engagement is the root of a community and Fairfax County residents 
enjoy an excellent quality of life due in part to the efforts of these 
individuals. The contributions and leadership of these honorees have 
been a great benefit to our community and truly merit our highest 
praise.

                          ____________________