[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 13642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO BRYCE LUCHTERHAND

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, today I honor Bryce Luchterhand on his 
retirement from Federal and public service. He has dedicated his career 
to improving the quality of life and the vitality of communities 
throughout the State of Wisconsin. The occasion of his retirement 
presents a special opportunity to celebrate his dedication to public 
service and social justice.
  Bryce was born in Colby, WI, and raised on the Luchterhand family 
farm--a fixture in the local rural community since 1902. He graduated 
from Colby High School and earned his bachelor's degree in secondary 
education broadfield social studies from Northland College in Ashland, 
WI. Growing up on a Wisconsin farm, Bryce was instilled with the values 
of hard work, love of the land, Central Wisconsin optimism, and a sense 
for social justice that would serve him well throughout his career and 
life.
  In 1970 he started his lifelong path in public service as teacher of 
social studies on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Many Farms High 
School in Many Farms, AZ, where he inspired and mentored the youth of 
the Navajo reservation. Working with the impoverished youth of the 
Navajo reservation sparked within Bryce his passion for equal 
opportunity, creating bonds and lifelong friendships that became a 
foundation for his life of service.
  Throughout his public service career, Bryce has been guided by his 
love of the land. In 1973, Bryce took an opportunity to return to 
Colby, WI, to buy a dairy farm next to the Luchterhand family farm. And 
with the same drive and determination that have become his trademark, 
he and his wife, Max, milked dairy cows and raised beef cows for the 
past 42 years, even developing a new breed of cow called a Gloucester 
Lineback. As a farmer, Bryce greets every season with the same grit and 
resolve he learned as a child in rural Wisconsin. However, the time of 
year he holds most dear is the maple syrup season each spring. Bryce 
and Max spend many early mornings and late nights tending to the taps, 
boiling down the sap, and bottling one of Wisconsin's treasures--
Wisconsin maple syrup. Each bottle of Luchterhand maple syrup is a 
labor of love, and I have been honored to be among the select 
individuals to receive this special gift.
  Bryce's years of public service are comprised of distinguished 
service on various boards, committees, and associations, often in roles 
as chairman or advisor. He is most proud of his roles as instructor for 
the Presidential Classroom in Washington, DC, executive council member 
of Wisconsin Rural Partners, member of the Board of Directors for 
Wisconsin Farm Progress/Technology Days, as well as a founding and 
current member of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, an organization dedicated 
to giving citizens a voice in land use planning.
  Bryce's career in public service has also included serving the 
President of the United States, the Governor of Wisconsin and two U.S. 
Senators. He served as President Clinton's Director of Rural 
Development for the State of Wisconsin for 8 years, helping to make 
critical economic and agricultural development investments in rural 
Wisconsin. He served as the director of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's 
northern office, serving residents of 40 counties for 8 years, and as 
Senator Herb Kohl's area representative for 2 years in 14 counties. As 
my Deputy State Director of Outreach for the past 2 years, it was not 
uncommon for Bryce to travel in excess of 1,000 miles a week 
representing me at meetings and events in northern Wisconsin. Of 
course, these trips were made easier if you knew the ``Luchterhand 
shortcuts'' that often took Bryce snaking along the back county roads 
of northern Wisconsin, inevitably getting him to his destination 
quicker. In all of these capacities, Bryce served the people of 
Wisconsin with distinction and honor.
  I am proud to call Bryce a friend and I am grateful that in choosing 
the path of public service, he has impacted countless people's lives, 
changed communities for the better, and strengthened rural communities 
of Wisconsin. In retirement, I wish Bryce and his wife Max all the 
best, including good health and happiness, for many years to come.

                          ____________________