[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RON HINDLE

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise to deliver a difficult speech. My 
senior communications adviser, Ron Hindle, is retiring after more than 
30 years in the U.S. Senate. If you do some quick math, you will 
realize that Ron has been part of the Senate longer than I have. I came 
here in January of 1997 and quickly learned Ron would be an 
indispensable part of my team. Previously, he had worked for my 
predecessor, Al Simpson. That meant he knew Wyoming, and he knew how to 
communicate with Wyomingites.
  I am so glad I hired Ron when I came to DC. He has written some of 
the best speeches I have given over the past 20 years. When Ron told me 
he was retiring, I went back and looked at a few of his remarks between 
tears.
  When my longtime State director retired, Ron wrote:

       There is an old saying we all heard before: Good help is 
     hard to find. Here is my experience: Good help is not only 
     hard to find, it is also impossible to replace.

  That was true about Robin, and it is equally true of Ron. In a speech 
to the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, Ron called the library 
card ``our passport to adventure.'' For a speech to the Young 
Entrepreneurs Academy, Ron referred to books, ``especially biographies 
and autobiographies--as `How To' manuals for success.'' When I spoke to 
my grandson's graduating fifth grade class, Ron wrote me an example 
comparing the Supreme Court to grandparents: ``If they say no, there is 
no one else to turn to.''
  I hope this sampling of Ron's work can convey why he has been an 
important part of my team. He has a way with words that few people have 
and, more importantly, he knows what I want to say and how I want to 
say it. Ron does more than help me with speeches. If there is a student 
in Wyoming who has achieved an important goal, Ron helps me with a 
laudatory note. When an organization like Daughters of the American 
Revolution has their annual convention, Ron works on the statement 
commemorating that event. When a Wyoming business celebrates an 
important anniversary, Ron has helped me congratulate that success.
  My staff and I will miss Ron, not only for the help he gives us but 
for the person he is. He is kind, considerate, and generous. He is also 
willing to lend a helping hand in everything we do, from hosting our 
holiday cookie party to organizing trivia, and building games for our 
staff planning sessions. This isn't goodbye, as Ron will remain my 
neighbor and my friend.
  Today I want to celebrate all that Ron has done for me, for my 
office, for Wyoming, and for America. It is appropriate for me to once 
again quote Ron in describing the word ``celebrate'' to Wyoming Cowboy 
Challenge Academy graduates, Ron wrote:

       Celebrating is much more than the things we do--it's the 
     feelings we get from the great accomplishments of our life. 
     It is the joy and happiness that comes from the heart when we 
     have reached one of our goals. It's the sense of satisfaction 
     we feel that comes from the knowledge that we have taken on a 
     difficult challenge and mastered it. It is the increase in 
     self-confidence and self-esteem that comes from learning to 
     trust in ourselves to make the right choices and the right 
     decisions.

  Ron, Diana joins me in celebrating you today. You have been a great 
example of the importance of public service, and your legacy will 
continue in my office and in Wyoming as business owners, students, and 
others reread the words you wrote over more than 30 years. I thank you 
for devoting so much of your life to making my office a better place to 
work and, more importantly, Wyoming a better place to live. Thanks for 
all you have done for all of us and America. I wish you the best.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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