[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9944-9945]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  MONSIGNOR WILLIAM O'NEILL CELEBRATES 50 YEARS WITH SAVANNAH DIOCESE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of 
Monsignor William O'Neill, who celebrated his Golden Jubilee of 
Ordination on June 4, 2017, marking his 50th year of service with the 
Catholic Diocese of Savannah.
  Irish Catholics have been an important aspect of Savannah's culture 
and history since their arrival during the mid-19th century. Today, 
Savannah maintains important aspects of Irish Catholic culture, and is 
now home to the third largest St. Patrick's Day festival in the world.
  A native of Ireland, a newly ordained O'Neill arrived in the heat of 
a Georgia summer in 1967. His first assignment was to St. Mary on the 
Hill in Augusta. Later, Father O'Neill would go on to manage the 
cathedral at Abercorn and Harris, which has become an architectural 
staple in the city of Savannah.
  Father O'Neill's graciousness and love for the Catholic faith and its 
Savannah followers led him to begin the renovation of the cathedral on 
Abercorn and Harris in 1998, which involved the removal and cleaning of 
over 50 stained glass windows, the replacement of the slate roof, and 
the restoration of the building's interior.
  On February 4, 2001, Father O'Neill was made the first priest of the 
Savannah Diocese in nearly 34 years to be invested with the title of 
Monsignor, which serves as a recognition of his commitment to the 
Diocese. Although he has since retired, Father O'Neill remains an 
active part of the Diocese.
  I congratulate Father O'Neill and I thank him for his commitment to 
the First Congressional District of Georgia.


             Retirement of FLETC Director Connie L. Patrick

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Ms. Connie 
Patrick for her service to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, 
as she retires as its director this Friday, June 30, 2017.
  Director Patrick began her career in law enforcement in 1976, when 
she was sworn in as a deputy with the Brevard County Sheriff's Office 
in Titusville, Florida. Her hard work and determination gave her the 
opportunity for a promotion to serve as a special agent with the 
Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
  After 20 years with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, she 
began her work with the FLETC. Director Patrick's impeccable work ethic 
gained her a promotion to Director of the FLETC in 2002. She has since 
served in that capacity.
  Under Director Patrick's leadership, local, State and, Federal 
training facility growth has increased by an astonishing 22 percent. 
The FLETC has also trained more students during her tenure than it did 
in its first 36 years of existence.
  As Director of this division of Homeland Security, Director Patrick 
oversaw training for a majority of Federal officers and agents from 
more than 90 Federal organizations on the local, State, and national 
levels. These facilities graduate approximately 63,000 law enforcement 
officers annually. To date, Director Patrick is the longest-serving 
head of any component of the Department of Homeland Security.
  Director Patrick has also found the time to serve as a leader among 
members of the National Sheriffs' Association Education and Awards 
Committee, as well as the executive committee of the National Law 
Enforcement Exploring Committee.
  I thank Director Patrick for her invaluable dedication to ensuring 
that our law enforcement officers are properly trained to protect our 
loved ones.


             St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church Anniversary

  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
St.

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Mary Missionary Baptist Church on its 87th anniversary this year.
  In 1930, God gave a group of dynamic trailblazers, under the 
leadership of the church's first pastor, Reverend R.D. Cooper, a vision 
to help establish a permanent place of worship. They purchased land and 
built the first structure that would become St. Mary Missionary Baptist 
Church. On that location, the members of St. Mary embraced the church's 
unified goal of ``Touching Lives for Christ.''
  As pastors came and went over the years, each had their own vision on 
how to improve and enrich the church and its congregation. The church's 
current leader, Minister Lawrence F. Baker, Sr., joined St. Mary as its 
pastor in 2005 and made many improvements and purchases that helped the 
church grow its membership while never losing sight of its vision.
  St. Mary is a truly blessed congregation with its kind and charitable 
members serving the community any way they can. As the church continues 
to grow, the good people of St. Mary touch more lives every day. On 
June 11, communities and congregations from all over came together to 
celebrate St. Mary's history and future.
  I congratulate Minister Baker on his impressive leadership of this 
dynamic organization.

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