[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 2759-2760]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF LIN SCHMALE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 3, 2016

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lin Schmale, who 
recently retired from The Society of American Florists where she was 
senior director of government relations and an advocate for flower and 
plant growers across the nation. Lin is someone known for tenacity and 
fearlessness--as well as collaboration and kindness. A walking 
encyclopedia of the federal bureaucracy, she has a long and well-
documented history for promoting teamwork and partnerships to 
accomplish the sometimes seemingly impossible.
   For 22 years, Lin fought for the floral industry on Capitol Hill and 
throughout countless federal agencies, bringing together diverse 
people, groups and agencies, and standing her ground on issues that 
directly affect the livelihood of growers, wholesalers, retailers and 
suppliers.
  Known for her sharp intellect and her ability to grasp and then 
distill complex issues, Lin has played a lead role in two critically 
important areas: first, through her efforts, federal funds are now 
available to conduct important research on floral and nursery crops; 
and second, she has dedicated countless hours to ensure safe and 
efficient transportation of flowers and plants within the United States 
and across international borders.
  When Lin started working at SAF, the Floral and Nursery Research 
Initiative (FNRI) had been created and was poised to be a source of 
needed funding for research across the country. While the structure was 
in place, and there was support in Congress and the USDA, the 
Initiative needed more visibility. However, putting her knowledge of 
the federal and political bureaucracy to work, and calling on a vast 
network of colleagues and peers on the Hill, Lin soon helped take the 
Initiative to the next level. What was initially a glimmer in the eyes 
of the industry soon became a multi-million dollar annual USDA research 
program that today funds a wide variety of research benefitting not 
only the floral and nursery industries but literally all of 
agriculture. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture has called the 
Initiative a model program for private and public sector collaboration.
  As the international movement of floral products has increased, Lin's 
role in addressing pest and disease issues took on more importance.
  When the pathogen Ralstonia first threatened to disrupt the country's 
supply of geraniums, Lin made sure the industry maintained a respectful 
yet loud voice in often difficult negotiations between the USDA, the 
Department of Homeland Security and other agricultural groups. 
Leveraging her deep connections in Washington, she brought interested 
parties together to craft a realistic and workable solution that 
protected the geranium industry first and foremost, but also addressed 
the needs of other agricultural groups and the federal government. That 
was no small feat, and some people have said, without exaggeration, 
that Lin saved the geranium industry in the United States.
  Over the years, Lin has been a strong industry advocate and 
negotiator in many other similar situations. She has dealt with federal 
and state officials on a wide variety of other pest and disease issues 
that threatened to disrupt the flow of floral products. In working on 
these issues, Lin is often recognized because of her ability to get 
people to focus on the science of an issue and not only the politics. 
With that said, she knows politics in

[[Page 2760]]

Washington, D.C., and at the state level and uses her knowledge to help 
diffuse challenging situations and work toward solutions.
  Through all of her interactions with government officials, Lin 
emphasizes candor and transparency. For that, people in both the 
industry and government place great trust in her word.
  At The Society of American Florists, Lin dedicated herself to staging 
SAF's annual Congressional Action Days event, and helped to inform and 
educate SAF members on the key issues of the day. And she has also had 
a major role in developing its annual Pest and Production Management 
Conference, a must-see for scientists, researchers and growers. Lin was 
honored this year with SAF's John H. Walker Award for excellence in the 
field of association management and she also received the Executive 
Director's Award from the North American Plant Protection Organization 
for her collaborative work with regulatory officials from the United 
States, Mexico and Canada.
  Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honor to rise and celebrate Lin's 
excellence in fighting for the floral industry every day on Capitol 
Hill and for her deep commitment to collaboration and partnerships.

                          ____________________