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“TRIBUTE TO MONROE WOODS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E164 on Feb. 5, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO MONROE WOODS
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HON. BOBBY L. RUSH
of illinois
in the house of representatives
Thursday, February 1, 1996
Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Monroe Woods who is retiring as the Midwest Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service. An event will be held in his honor on Thursday, February 1, 1996, in Chicago, IL.
Mr. Woods joined the Food and Consumer Service in 1966 as a member of the Los Angeles Field Office staff. He has held various positions in Oakland and the San Francisco Regional Office, the New England Region in Boston, MA, and the Mountain Plains Region in Denver, CO, before his appointment in July 1978 as Regional Administrator of the Midwest Region in Chicago.
As Regional Administrator of the Midwest Region, Mr. Woods administers the agency's food assistance programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin; oversees annual expenditures of $5.6 billion; and manages approximately 200 employees.
His service, and outstanding dedication to his work and to the citizenry, have merited him appointments on a number of national and local advisory boards, task forces, and councils, including the National Advisory Council for the Child Nutrition Programs and the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Illinois. Mr. Woods also served as Chairman of the Chicago Federal Executive Board in 1987 and 1988, and is an alumni of the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA.
Mr. Woods received a Presidential Rank Award at a private White House ceremony in 1984, where he was conferred ``distinguished executive status''. In 1991, Mr. Woods was named to Who's Who in Government Service. In 1992, Mr. Woods was presented with a medallion of the city of Detroit by the President of the Detroit City Council.
In 1994, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Consumer Service became the sponsor of, and Mr. Woods was named chairperson of, the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Opportunity Committee. It is in this capacity that I became most familiar with Mr. Woods. Mr. Woods' dedication to the Inclusion of minority and women-
owned businesses in the Federal procurement process have been well documented. This dedication led him to willingly take responsibility for the continued mission of the Minority Business Opportunity Committee to increase the participation of such businesses in the marketplace.
I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Monroe Woods, an outstanding community and business leader and role model. I wish him the best of luck in his retirement. May he continue to share his talent and love of community that he has given to the Federal Government and the community at large.
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