[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING ANDREW MEKELBURG

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN KLINE

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 17, 2015

  Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Andrew 
Mekelburg, Vice President of Government Affairs, upon his upcoming 
retirement after more than 36 years with Verizon and its preceding 
companies.
  Andy began his career with Bell Atlantic and the Chesapeake and 
Potomac Telephone Company of D.C. Originally from Needham, 
Massachusetts, Andy came to Washington to attend Georgetown University, 
where he majored in accounting and earned a Bachelor of Science in 
Business Administration. He also earned a Master of Science in Special 
Studies of Telecommunications Policy from George Washington University.
  At the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone (C&P) Company he supervised a 
team processing telephone bill payments. Andy next served as a 
Supervisor and then Manager in Corporate Accounting before becoming a 
Manager of External Affairs, State Regulatory, Financial and Accounting 
Matters at Bell Atlantic, the parent company of C&P.
  From 1991 to 1992, Andy was a Brookings Institution Congressional 
Fellow assigned to serve in then-Congressman Amory ``Amo'' Houghton's 
(NY) office. During his fellowship, Andy founded a coalition of 
community leaders and worked with them to develop and implement 
economic development activities, including the Western New York Tourism 
Coalition, throughout the congressional district. He also initiated and 
founded HealthNet, one of the first Telemedicine networks in the 
nation, which was comprised of twelve rural and urban hospitals and a 
number of technology companies that worked together to use 
telecommunications technologies to solve health care challenges.
  After his fellowship concluded, Andy served as Director of 
Infrastructure Initiatives for Bell Atlantic. In that capacity, he 
worked with the General Services Administration, the Vice President's 
National Performance Review, and the City of Hagerstown, Maryland, to 
establish the first Federal Telecommuting Center in the Washington 
area. He also continued to initiate other Telemedicine and Distance 
Learning projects throughout the Bell Atlantic territory.
  In 1995, Andy was promoted to Director of Federal Relations for Bell 
Atlantic and continued to work in Government Affairs after Bell 
Atlantic merged with NYNEX to become part of the new Bell Atlantic. A 
later merger with GTE created Verizon in 2000, and later mergers with 
MCI and the purchase of Vodafone's interest in VerizonWireless created 
the current Verizon where Andy is finishing his distinguished career.
  He has also served as Chairman and in a leadership capacity with 
Signal Credit Union for many years. Andy has continued to focus on 
health care and telemedicine policy but also worked on labor, 
immigration, environment, and other issues. He is well known and 
admired for his expertise, effectiveness, friendliness, and generosity 
as well as his ability to forge effective coalitions with diverse 
memberships. Additionally, he is a proud member of ``Red Sox Nation'' 
and a long-time fan of the New England Patriots.
  Andy is a long-time resident of Maryland and resides in Adamstown 
with his wife, Linda. Together they have two adult children, Cory and 
Elise. In retirement, Andy and Linda are looking forward to spending 
time at their homes in Massachusetts and Maryland.

                          ____________________