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“RECOGNIZING ROGER MADSEN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S10897-S10898 on Aug. 3, 2007.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RECOGNIZING ROGER MADSEN
Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I would like to recognize an Idahoan who since 1995 has served four Idaho Governors as director of the Idaho Department of Labor and twice served as interim executive director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He also served as an Idaho assistant attorney general and as an Idaho State senator for 4 years. After 12 years, Roger Madsen is among the longest-serving State employment agency directors in the Nation, and he is my friend.
Roger has been a tireless volunteer for the betterment of his community and State. The list of his activities and leadership is long and prestigious. Roger has served as: delegate to the White House Conference on Families; chair of the Governor's task force on unemployment insurance; vice chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Society; chair of the mayor's citizen's advisory panel on public housing; chair of the Governor's advisory council on worker's compensation; member of the job training and workforce development councils; member of the TechHelp science advisory board and the Governor's rural economic development committee; chair of the Idaho State Employee's United Way Campaign; cochair of Idaho Rural Partnership; and, cochair of the ``Katrina Evacuee Resettlement'' effort in Idaho.
Without hesitation and despite his weighty workload, Roger twice agreed to guide the Idaho Commission on the Arts through difficult periods and did so in an inimitable manner, with much gratitude on behalf of the staff and arts community. Additionally, he served as the interim director of the Idaho Disability Determination Services.
In 2005, the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor received the William J. Harris Equal Opportunity Award for its ``commitment to intensifying assistance to minorities and ensuring those new to the State receive the same quality service as longtime Idaho residents.'' The annual award honors a work force agency administrator and the agency's equal opportunity officer for outstanding accomplishments. Under Madsen's leadership, the department increased its bilingual staff, doubled the number of female managers in local offices, increased the number of employees with disabilities and launched new programs such as special job search workshops in Spanish.
In June 2007, the International Association of Workforce Professionals named Director Roger Madsen as its Administrator of the Year for his leadership in economic and work force development in 2006, when average wages rose 5.6 percent and Idaho's growth in real gross state product led the Nation.
I recognize and commend Roger for his continued efforts and accomplishments on behalf of all of the citizens of Idaho. He is a great advocate for Idaho and I look forward to continuing to work with him on issues important to Idahoans.
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