S5970 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 2, 2012 

supported agriculture in Delaware and 

has emphasized its importance to the 

financial well-being of our State. Dr. 

Morgan has always taken great pride 

in her faculty, which brings new skills, 

ideas, and innovation in various fields 

to the future of agriculture and natural 

resources. Over the past decade, under 

Dean Morgan’s guidance, the number of 

undergraduate applications to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has doubled. The high caliber 

of hired faculty and Dr. Morgan’s persistence in rebuilding several University of Delaware greenhouses has been 

pivotal to the growth of the program. 

I wholeheartedly thank Dr. Robin W. 

Morgan for her service as dean of the 

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Delaware. 

Her model leadership and dedication 

improved the quality of education and 

research offered within her department. I wish her the best of luck as she 

steps down to pursue other research 

and teaching endeavors at the University of Delaware.

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∑ 

TRIBUTE TO SUSAN MARTINOVICH 

∑ Mr. HELLER. Mr. President, today I 

wish to recognize a native Nevadan for 

her accomplished career and lifelong 

commitment to the Silver State. Susan 

Martinovich, director of the Nevada 

Department of Transportation, NDOT, 

will be retiring this summer after 28 

years with the agency. As an incredible 

leader in recognizing and addressing 

the transportation needs of my home 

State for nearly three decades, Susan’s 

talent will be difficult to replace. 

Susan started her career at NDOT as 

a rotation engineer where she became 

familiar with the inner workings of the 

department. Shortly thereafter, she 

was promoted to the bridge division 

and was responsible for the design of 

several structures in the State. Over 

the next decade, Susan worked her way 

up through the agency and contributed 

to the development of several major 

freeway projects. In 2007, she was appointed as the first female director of 

NDOT, where she assumed the role of 

managing the agency of more than 

1,800 individuals. As director, Susan 

continuously advocated for a solid and 

comprehensive transportation plan, focused on creating jobs for Nevadans. 

In 2011, she was named the first female president of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials, AASHTO, a national 

organization representing highway and 

transportation departments across the 

country. As president, she supported 

AASHTO’s mission of promoting the 

development, operation, and maintenance of a cohesive national transportation system. 

I wish Susan the best of luck in her 

future endeavors and look forward to 

what she will accomplish next. Today, 

I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her indelible service to the 

great State of Nevada.∑ 

RECOGNIZING TIMBERLINE LODGE 

∑ Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, today 

I wish to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Timberline Lodge. 

Since being constructed in 1937 under 

President Roosevelt’s Works Project 

Administration, Timberline Lodge has 

served as a beacon for those looking to 

enjoy year-round recreational activities on one of the Nation’s most magnificent mountainsides—Oregon’s 

Mount Hood. 

Overcoming a series of challenges in 

the first part of the 20th century that 

threatened to close this lodge, Oregon’s 

Timberline Lodge was declared a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. 

Department of the Interior on December 22, 1977. Without the tireless work 

of those who have cared for Timberline 

Lodge over the years, specifically Richard L. Kohnstamm and the Friends of 

Timberline, the legacy of this national 

treasure would not have endured. 

Today, over 1.9 million people visit 

Timberline Lodge every year. This includes the U.S. Ski Team, which trains 

at Timberline every summer. 

Part of Timberline’s rich history is 

its role in many films. Most notably, 

visuals of the exterior of the lodge were 

used to depict the Overlook hotel in 

‘‘The Shining.’’ 

As President Roosevelt said in 1937 

when he dedicated this lodge: ‘‘The 

people of the United States are singularly fortunate in having such great 

areas of the outdoors in the permanent 

possession of the people themselves— 

permanently available for many different forms of use.’’ 

It is my honor to celebrate the 75th 

anniversary of Timberline Lodge, a 

landmark that Oregon, and the Nation, 

is lucky to have.

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∑ 

CONGRATULATIONS BIRDIE ELISE 

DAVIDSON 

∑ Mrs. MCCASKILL. Mr. President, 

today I wish to lead the Senate in congratulating Mrs. Birdie Elise Davidson 

on reaching her 100th birthday on September 7 of this year. 

Birdie was born in Muskogee, OK, to 

Essie and Max Davidson and grew up 

with three brothers. She moved to St. 

Louis when she married Mr. Louis 

Sachs. She and Mr. Sachs have three 

children, seven grandchildren, and six 

great granddaughters. Her daughter, 

Marjorie, is married to Mr. Louis Susman, the U.S. Ambassador to Court of 

St. James in the United Kingdom. Her 

daughter, Nancy, lives in Highland 

Park, IL. Her son Louis, Jr., lives in 

San Diego, CA. 

After retiring with her husband to 

Key Biscayne, FL, Birdie earned recognition for her philanthropic activities. She is best known for her work for 

the American Cancer Society. 

The social and technological developments that Birdie has witnessed in her 

lifetime are truly incredible. She has 

lived through two world wars, the rise 

and fall of the Soviet Union, and the 

Great Depression. She has experienced 

the birth of the Internet, humanity’s 

journey into space, and the eradication 

of polio and smallpox. Birdie was born 

before women had the right to vote, 

but ninety-six years later, she supported President Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign. Upon meeting thencandidate Obama, she told him: 

‘‘Young man, I have been alive through 

17 Presidents and I am counting on you 

being the 18th—don’t disappoint me!’’ 

She urged President Obama to set new 

records and to challenge conventional 

wisdom because she knows the scope 

and speed of change possible in American life as few others do. 

Today, I join with my colleagues in 

the Senate in congratulating Birdie 

and her family on this amazing occasion, and wishing her good health and 

happiness.∑ 

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KANSAS STATE FIRE FIGHTER’S 

ASSOCIATION 

∑ Mr.ROBERTS. Mr. President, this 

August the Kansas State Firefighters 

Association will commemorate 125 

years of providing the great State of 

Kansas with the safety, resources, and 

preparedness it takes to ensure our 

firefighters are able to protect our citizens. On August 3, 1887, five service 

leaders met and organized the Kansas 

State Volunteer Firemen’s Association. Today, that organization is 

known as the Kansas State Firefighters Association and has grown to 

518 member fire departments. In 125 

years, the Kansas State Firefighters 

Association has never faulted on its 

motto: Dedicated to the safety and 

education of the Kansas firefighter. 

We all know this summer has been 

hot and dry. We have seen the deadly 

destruction fire can cause often with 

little warning. In times like these, fires 

created by heavy drought have the potential to get out of control quickly. 

Our courageous firefighters stand 

ready to battle the flames whether naturally created or man-made. The Kansas Fire Fighter’s Association makes 

certain these selfless, dedicated men 

and women have the proper tools and 

resources to battle whatever they face. 

With that in mind, it is with great 

pride that I ask the Senate to recognize the Kansas Fire Fighter’s Association for all it has done over the past 125 

years and for the crucial work the 

members continue to do to protect us.

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∑ 

RECOGNIZING THE RUN TO HOME 

PROGRAM 

∑ Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Mr. 

President, I rise today to highlight the 

groundbreaking work that some extraordinary citizens from Massachusetts are doing to help veterans of the 

wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a 

decade of conflict, tens of thousands of 

servicemen and women are returning 

home with invisible wounds. They and 

their families are struggling to cope 

with the effects of deployment-related 


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