November 11, 1999 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 29641 who is retiring this month as Manager of the 200 children to more than 1,500 children. age during this operation and throughout his Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts While at the Oakland Head Start, Ms. Chisom service to our country is admirable and should in Tulare County, in central California. was responsible for a number of innovative be commended. Mr. Robb was born in Garden City, South and pilot programs, including Home Base f Dakota, on October 5, 1937. He attended jun- (where teachers visit families and provide in- ior college in Porterville, expressing an early struction to parents in the home), services to TRIBUTE TO JESSE AND EDWARDO interest in serving as manager of an irrigation homeless families with children of Head Start MARTINEZ district. He received his bachelor’s degree in age, and a program to provide Head Start civil engineering from California State Univer- through family day care homes. HON. BRAD SHERMAN sity, Fresno, and his Master’s degree in Since 1992, Ms. Chisom served as the Di- OF CALIFORNIA Geotechnical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley. rector of the City of Oakland’s Office of Health IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Early in his career, Mr. Robb held various and Human Services. In that role, she served Wednesday, November 10, 1999 positions with the U.S. Department of Agri- as the Executive Director of the City’s Com- culture’s Soil Conservation Service, serving in munity Action Agency as well as staffing a Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today their Napa and Davis state offices. There he number of other city boards and commissions. and ask my colleagues to join me in recog- was active in a wide range of issues, including She began Oakland’s involvement with the nizing the vision and commitment of brothers watershed management, drainage issues, California Healthy Cities program, assisted the Jesse and Edwardo Martinez, founders of small dams and irrigation efficiency studies. City to develop a Child Care Plan, a Homeless Picosito.com, who have created a bilingual In 1976, Mr. Robb began work at the Lower Plan, and promoted expansion of programs to Internet website tailored to the U.S. Hispanic/ Tule River Irrigation District and Pixley Irriga- address homelessness, hunger, illiteracy and Latino community. These first generation tion District as a staff engineer. Only one year poverty. Mexican-American brothers established their later, he ascended to his ‘‘dream job’’ of man- In response to the termination of Aid to parent company, VivaMedia Incorporated, in ager of the two districts. Mr. Robb took the po- Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 1998 with the focus on educating, promoting sition at a time when the Central Valley of and the creation of CalWORKSs, Ms. Chisom and cultivating the online Hispanic/Latino com- California was facing one of its worst droughts established the City of Oakland’s Welfare Re- munity—regardless of income level or edu- in history, posing a challenge to the newly in- form Coordinating Committee and served as cation. stalled manager. Chair of the Committee. During this time, she Picosito.com provides free access to engag- Throughout his career, Mr. Robb has been was appointed as the Welfare Reform Man- ing, dynamic and culturally driven content in- active in a number of associations, including ager for the City and, along with the Commu- cluding free email, news, entertainment, the Friant Water Users Authority, Mid-valley nity Action Agency, coordinated the develop- health, business and communications re- Water Authority, Association of California ment of the City of Oakland’s Welfare to Work sources tailored to the needs of the growing Water Agencies-Joint Powers Insurance Au- Training Program. online Hispanic/Latino community. thority, and Central Valley Project Water Asso- In addition to her career in the public sector, The stories featured on Picosito.com are ex- ciation. Ms. Chisom is also active in many volunteer clusively written or selected because they ad- On the Tule River, Mr. Robb has overseen organizations including previously serving as a dress issues that affect the U.S. Hispanic/ day-to-day operations for the Tule River Asso- Board Member of the Breast Cancer Fund and Latino population. The company is dedicated ciation, and helped lead the successful effort her recent appointment to the California to identifying stories that will inform, educate to establish a small hydroelectric power plant Breast Cancer Research Council. and inspire Hispanics to make a difference in at Success Dam. I proudly join friends and colleagues in their lives and their communities. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me thanking and saluting Ms. Chisom on her Quizito, Person of the Day, and the Daily today in recognizing Roger Robb for his con- twenty-five years of dedicated public service, Fact are some of the unique features that tributions to his field and to the Central Valley leadership and innovation to the people and allow users to test their knowledge and gain community. We send our sincere congratula- City of Oakland and extend my best wishes to insightful information about their history, herit- tions and wish him well on the occasion of his her on her upcoming retirement. age and the vibrant culture of ‘‘la gente retirement. f bonita.’’ Jesse and Edwardo Martinez are the first in f TRIBUTE TO JOHNNIE HENDRIX their family to graduate from college, Jesse A SALUTE TO FLORETTA CHISOM with a mechanical engineering degree from ON HER RETIREMENT, OAKLAND, HON. SUE WILKINS MYRICK Texas A & M University and Edwardo with an CA OF NORTH CAROLINA electrical engineering degree from Stanford IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES University. They credit their parents, Alfred HON. BARBARA LEE Wednesday, November 10, 1999 and Socorro, who never graduated from high OF CALIFORNIA Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, on the eve of school, with instilling in them the courage, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Veterans Day, I rise to bring to the attention strength and determination to achieve aca- of the House the extraordinary accomplish- demic success. Now they want to give back to Wednesday, November 10, 1999 ments of Johnnie Hendrix. Mr. Hendrix, a re- their community and believe Picosito.com is Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor cipient of the Silver Star, deserves recognition the appropriate vehicle for this journey. and to salute Floretta Chisom on her retire- for his valiant bravery on behalf of the Amer- Picosito.com’s first step at bringing tech- ment from her position as the Director of the ican people while a member of our Armed nology into the Hispanic community is being City of Oakland’s Department of Aging, Health Forces. I am proud to represent Mr. Hendrix in demonstrated by the ‘‘Gift of Information’’ pro- and Human Services. Congress. gram, which involves donating computers to Ms. Chisom’s professional career, spanning Johnnie Hendrix, now 81, served in the 8th organizations that need computers and offer more than a quarter century, began as the Di- Infantry Division’s 13th Regiment during World training in the usage of computers and the rector of the East Oakland Parent Participation War II. While participating in an action against Internet throughout Los Angeles, New York Nursery School. She also served as Director the German military in the Ruhr Valley, his and Miami. of the District Parent Program for the San commander was critically wounded. With con- Joining the entire Picosito.com team at the Francisco Unified School District and the Par- cern for his commander and his fellow sol- House of Blues in Los Angeles to help launch ent Education Program for the San Francisco diers, Mr. Hendrix took up command of his the ‘‘Gift of Information’’ program are Edward Community College District, Assistant Director company to lead the battle. Under his direc- James Olmos and many personal and cor- of the Life Enrichment Agency, and as Execu- tion, a combination of tanks and infantry suc- porate friends from throughout the United tive Director of Oakland’s Community Action cessfully broke the German defenses and the States and around the world. Agency. group captured more than 1,000 Axis pris- Mr. Speaker, Please join me in honoring Ms. Chisom also served for fifteen years as oners. Jesse Martinez and Edwardo Martinez as they the Director of Oakland Head Start, helping Mr. Johnnie Hendrix is an outstanding and pursue their dream—which is now reality: pro- the program to grow from serving fewer than inspirational individual. His bravery and cour- viding the resources to empower Hispanics to

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