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“A TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF EVERETT ``BUD'' RANK, JR.” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1029 on June 8, 2012.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
A TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF EVERETT ``BUD'' RANK, JR.
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HON. JIM COSTA
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, June 8, 2012
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Mr. Everett ``Bud'' Rank, Jr., lifelong Valley farmer and former Clovis Unified School District Trustee. Mr. Rank left us on the same property along the San Joaquin River in northeast Fresno where he was born in 1921.
Mr. Rank spent much of his life working with the Future Farmers of America, where he helped organize the Clovis chapter of the organization. He was then president of that chapter, as well as a member of many other farming organizations, including the Farm Bureau California Young Farmers and Ranchers, Clovis Young Farmers, the Clovis Grange.
As a Clovis High School graduate, schools and children were his greatest contribution to the local community, as his wife says. He served three terms as head of the Clovis Unified Board of Trustees in the late 60's and early 70's. To honor his work in education, Bud Rank Elementary School in Clovis was named after him in 2006.
Mr. Rank worked two tours of duty within the Agriculture Department, as Western regional director of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service in the 1970s, and as the head of ASCS and executive vice president of the Commodity Credit Corp. in the 1980s. He also served as a member of both President Nixon and Reagan's administrations' Agricultural Departments, all while being an avid golfer and ardent family man.
He is survived by his wife Evelyn, their three daughters, two grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
I applaud Mr. Rank for his years of tireless work on behalf of agriculture and education.
Mr. Speaker, it is with great appreciation that I ask my colleagues to stand with me in honoring Mr. Rank's remarkable life and his work in advancing our education system and agricultural productivity in the Valley. Please join me today in recognizing the commitment, dedication, and success of Mr. Everett ``Bud'' Rank, Jr.'s life.
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