[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7797]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CELEBRATING THE CAREER AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF JOHN KELSALL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LINDA T. SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 31, 2016

  Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
celebrate the career and contributions of Mr. John Kelsall, the 
President and CEO of the Greater Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, located 
in my congressional district.
  As the head of the Chamber of Commerce for more than ten years, Mr. 
Kelsall has been a tireless champion for local and small businesses in 
Lakewood. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Kelsall has been instrumental in 
creating new programs to benefit the Lakewood community. His ``Shop 
Lakewood, Stay Lakewood Local'' initiative to improve commerce within 
the city was so successful that the city adopted it as one of its 
mottos. He also insisted on starting business councils, including those 
for veteran-owned and home-based companies.
  More recently, Mr. Kelsall shifted his focus to bringing new 
businesses into Lakewood. After seeing a need in his community for an 
establishment that sells fresh organic produce, he and the Chamber of 
Commerce partnered with the city and Lakewood Center mall to make it 
happen. Due to his vision and leadership, Lakewood opened its first 
Farmer's Market just a few weeks ago. This is just a small sampling of 
the many initiatives spearheaded by Mr. Kelsall during his time at the 
Lakewood Chamber.
  For the past decade, Mr. Kelsall has been a terrific leader for the 
Lakewood business community, but his greatest achievement may be as an 
advocate for veterans returning to civilian life. Following the tragic 
death of his son Lieutenant Commander Jonas Kelsall, a U.S. Navy SEAL, 
in 2011, anyone could excuse Mr. Kelsall time to grieve. Instead, he 
and his wife Teri Kelsall poured their energy into providing 
opportunities for our returning servicemen and women. In 2012, the 
Kelsalls founded the Jonas Project, a nonprofit that offers mentorship 
and services to veterans who wish to start a business. In just four 
years of operation, the Jonas Project has aided in the development of a 
number of successful, veteran-owned small businesses across the 
country.
  America needs more people like John Kelsall. Faced with unspeakable 
tragedy that would halt so many of us in our tracks, he instead chose 
to use his talent to create an organization dedicated to serving those 
men and women who risk their life to preserve our freedom. We owe our 
veterans an unpayable debt, and so I hope that Mr. Kelsall and the 
Jonas Project will inspire others to help ease their transition back to 
civilian life. I applaud Mr. Kelsall on his successful tenure at helm 
of the Lakewood Chamber and wish him well as he departs that post to 
dedicate himself full-time to the Jonas Project.

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