[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN MEMORY OF CHRIS BILLA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRETT GUTHRIE

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2014

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Chris Billa of 
Park City, KY. Only 26 years old, Chris lost his battle with cancer on 
July 14, 2014.
  Chris was a son, father and brother. But many knew Chris as a local 
firefighter. Despite having his own personal battle with cancer, Chris 
continued to battle the fires in our own community.
  WBKO, a TV station in Bowling Green, KY, named Chris a ``Hometown 
Hero'' in October 2013. In an interview with the station at the time, 
Larry Poteet, Deputy Chief said, ``He's not changed. If anything has 
changed about him its made him put everybody in front of him more, and 
I just don't know how he does it.'' It was Chris's commitment to serve 
his community and decisions to put others first that rightly caught the 
attention of so many.
  While a community is in mourning, we are all lucky to have shared 
this earth with Chris. I am grateful for his passion for life and his 
desire to serve our community. We will miss him and are thankful for 
his service.

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