[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14560]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING AL AND LINDA FOURNIER FOR THEIR DECADES OF SERVICE AT 
                         FORT McCOY, WISCONSIN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 17, 2015

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and thank Al and Linda 
Fournier for their combined 80 years of distinguished service at Fort 
McCoy, Wisconsin. The Fourniers, who met at Fort McCoy and were married 
in 1991, will be retiring from federal service on October 3, 2015. 
Together, the Fourniers helped Fort McCoy become one of the most 
capable and desirable training installations in the Army.
  Al Fournier began his tenure of dedicated service at Fort McCoy in 
1971. Since 2002 he has served as Deputy to the Garrison Commander. 
Thanks to Al's outstanding leadership and strategic contributions, Fort 
McCoy has been transformed into one of the nation's premier training 
centers and a preferred Army force projection site. Some of Al's major 
accomplishments at Fort McCoy include: the writing and publication of 
the Fort McCoy Installation Management System Handbook, the Fort McCoy 
Strategic Planning Handbook, and the Fort McCoy Acquisition Management-
Financial Management Planning Handbook. Al's other achievements and 
awards are too numerous to note here, but suffice it to say that he is 
a visionary whose legacy will have a lasting impact on Fort McCoy and 
its mission as a Total Force Training Center of unparalleled 
excellence.
  Linda Fournier began working at Fort McCoy in 1978 and has served as 
Public Affairs Officer since 2000. She has been instrumental in 
conducting programs designed to inform both the military community and 
the general public regarding Army and Fort McCoy activities, events, 
missions and policies. She has been the force behind numerous Fort 
McCoy books and publications, the installation newspaper (The Real 
McCoy) and community outreach to ensure that Fort McCoy remains a great 
community partner and neighbor. Probably her most lasting impact at 
Fort McCoy is her role in the creation of the installation's 
Commemorative Area, History Center and Equipment Park. Under Linda's 
supervision, the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area was recognized with a 
Department of the Army Award of Excellence in the 2009 Major General 
Keith L. Ware Public Affairs Communications Competition and 
specifically cited for its Community Relations outreach.
  It has been an honor for me to serve as U.S. Representative for 
Wisconsin's Third Congressional District during the Fournier's tenure 
at Fort McCoy. I know their leadership will be greatly missed at the 
base and surrounding communities, but I am thankful for their 
dedication and contributions to ensuring that Fort McCoy remains a 
shining star in the nation's military training infrastructure.
  On behalf of my constituents in Wisconsin and a grateful nation, I 
would like to thank and commend Al and Linda Fournier for their decades 
of dedicated service with the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort McCoy and wish 
them the very best in their future endeavors.

                          ____________________