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“HONORING DENNIS J. MAUFORT ON HIS RETIREMENT AS AREA DIRECTOR OF THE USDA IN THE UPPER PENINSULA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2147-E2148 on Sept. 28, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING DENNIS J. MAUFORT ON HIS RETIREMENT AS AREA DIRECTOR OF THE
USDA IN THE UPPER PENINSULA
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HON. BART STUPAK
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Mr. STUPAK. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Dennis Maufort on his retirement from the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. Maufort will be retiring as Area Director for USDA in the Upper Peninsula after more than 37 years. I ask that you, Madam Speaker, and the entire U.S. House of Representatives, join me in honoring and thanking Dennis Maufort for his 37 years of service to our community, State, and country.
Born and raised in Menominee, MI, Dennis Maufort is a native of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and has been proud to serve his fellow community members these many years. Dennis Maufort and his wife, Karen, have been married for 34 years. Together they have two wonderful children. Dennis was active in coaching minor league baseball for 4 years and senior league baseball for 5 years in Gladstone while his children were young. He also served as his daughter's fifth and sixth grade basketball coach.
Dennis Maufort graduated from Western Michigan University in 1971 with a degree in agriculture and a minor in general business. He went to work for what was then called the USDA Farmers Home Administration in June 1971 as an Assistant County Supervisor in the Marquette County Office. He served the residents of Marquette, Dickinson, and Alger Counties, providing single-family home loans and working with area farmers to provide loan and grant assistance. Dennis moved to Escanaba in 1977 as Farmers Home Administration County Supervisor. When the District Office was created in 1978 in Escanaba, he became the District Director, supervising six county offices located in Escanaba, Marquette, Ewen, Sault Ste. Marie, Petoskey, and Alpena, MI.
During the farm crisis in the 1980s, Mr. Maufort became involved in the Upper Peninsula Market Livestock recordkeeping project at the Upper Peninsula State Fair. Each person involved in 4-H who is raising an animal for sale at the fair must submit a record book for his or her livestock project documenting how the animal was raised and recording feed and maintenance cost for the animal. Dennis spearheaded the committee of employees who volunteered their time to review and analyzed the record books, interviewed the students, and awarded the ribbons. The committee consists of employees from USDA Rural Development, Farm Service Agency, and Farm Credit Services. Mr. Maufort has also served on the Dairy Science Advisory Council and as an advisor for the Rotational Grazing Project with Michigan State University.
USDA Farmers Home Administration is now USDA Rural Development, and Mr. Maufort works out of the agency's office in Gladstone, MI. He has been instrumental in developing a working relationship between the Native American Tribes in the Upper Peninsula and USDA Rural Development. The Gladstone Office processed the first Tribal Loan in the State of Michigan because of Mr. Maufort's personal dedication to the application.
Dennis Maufort has been a tremendous asset to the Upper Peninsula and all of Michigan over the course of his 37 years with USDA. He processed the first USDA loan for a Michigan hospital in the 1970s at Munising Memorial Hospital, and he also was instrumental in coordinating the first Hydroelectric Power Loan in Norway, MI, in the early 1980s. More recently Mr. Maufort worked with the County Board for Keweenaw County in providing assistance for the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Cooper Harbor, MI. Mr. Maufort also worked with the city of Houghton to obtain a loan for the Houghton Public Library which overlooks the estuary in Houghton and provides services for the entire county. These are just a few of Dennis Maufort's many accomplishments since he started working at USDA.
Madam Speaker, Mr. Maufort has been a vital asset to USDA Rural Development during his career. His contact with the communities he has served has increased the quality of life for countless citizens in Michigan. I ask that you and the entire U.S. House of Representatives join me in congratulating Dennis Maufort on a job well done and in wishing him well in his retirement.
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