[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10233]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF THE FERNANDES FAMILY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DAVID G. VALADAO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2017

  Mr. VALADAO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Fernandes 
Family on being nominated the 2017 Kings County Dairy Family of the 
Year.
  The Fernandes Family legacy began when Adao Fernandes immigrated from 
the Terceira Island of the Portuguese Azores to Tulare, California, in 
1977 with dreams of owning a dairy. Once in the United States, Adao 
worked as a herdsman for Phillipe Ribeiro and Sons, a dairy in Tulare. 
In 1979, Adao met his wife, Maria Osvalda Avila, who also immigrated 
from the Azores at a young age, at the Tulare County Fair. The couple 
married on June 21, 1981 in Tulare at Saint Aloysius Catholic Church.
  Mr. and Mrs. Fernandes spent the next nineteen years in Tulare, while 
Adao continued to work at Phillipe Ribeiro and Sons dairy. In this 
time, the couple raised three children, Adam, Osvaldo, and Mark. Their 
eldest son, Adam Fernandes, was born on April 21, 1983. Adam and his 
wife, Christen, have two boys, Adam and John, and own a local small 
business, Lost Sock Laundromat. Osvaldo ``Ozzie'' Fernandes and his 
wife Katie have two children, Carsyn and Ella. Ozzie, recently made 
partner, works with his father on the dairy as a partner in the family 
business. The Fernandes' youngest son, Mark, resides in Hanford, 
California, and is an employee for the County of Kings.
  In 1990, Adao Fernandes partnered with his brother in law, Arnold 
Avila. With the help of the Valadao Family, the partners established 
the Avila and Fernandes Dairy consisting of four hundred and fifty 
cows. In 1999, Adao and Arnold ended their partnership to each manage 
their own dairy, and Adao's operation became known as the Fernandes 
Dairy. Adao Fernandes expanded his dairy to host approximately 1,300 
cows. In 2016, Fernandes Dairy received the Dairy Herd Improvement 
Association Lifetime Milk Award.
  This year, the Fernandes Family is being honored as the 2017 Kings 
County Dairy Couple of the Year at the Kings County June Dairy Month 
Committee Dinner in Hanford, California. This award is given to 
prominent dairy families in the community. The Fernandes Family upholds 
the principles, responsibility, and dedication this award stands for by 
successfully representing the dairy industry.
  Mr. Speaker, today I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 
Fernandes Family for their influence in the dairy industry, and 
congratulating them on being Kings County Dairy Family of the Year.

                          ____________________