September 19, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6423 

awards. Although Phil is retired, he remains active in the community, serving on boards such as the National 

World War II Museum and the National 

Center for Responsible Gaming, NCRG. 

Jennifer Satre was the cofounder of 

the Satre Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada. 

She has served the State on multiple 

boards, including the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation, where she was 

a board trustee from 2001 to 2006, board 

chair in 2006, and became a trustee 

emerita in 2007. Jennifer, a tireless advocate for education, taught at 

Peavine Elementary School in Reno for 

seven years, nourishing, developing, 

and enhancing young minds to continue her legacy of great service to the 

community. 

Due to their tremendous personal 

and professional success, together, Mr. 

and Mrs. Satre have generously supported the University of Nevada, Reno, 

and Stanford University, their alma 

mater. They continue their philanthropic legacy to the State of Nevada 

through the Satre Family Fund, the 

Phil and Jennifer Satre Harrah’s Employee Scholarship Award, and other 

initiatives focused on community empowerment and the quality of education. 

I am pleased to stand here today to 

recognize their remarkable contributions to the Nevada family. I am grateful to Phil and Jennifer for their exceptional service, community engagement, and love for the Silver State. 

You will forever be recognized as great 

champions for the State of Nevada. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO BILL CLINE 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I stand before you to recognize and honor Mr. 

Bill Cline for his dedication to the development and expansion of businesses 

in Nevada, across the United States, 

and throughout the world. 

Bill’s leadership was essential to the 

establishment and growth of two U.S. 

Commercial Service offices: the first, 

in Las Vegas in 2001, and the second in 

Reno in 2004. The offices have assisted 

and continue to assist small- and medium-sized business in northern and 

southern Nevada expand their international exports of products and services. Bill has led international initiatives to develop strong, sustainable 

growth and improve international 

trade advocacy with the United States. 

These initiatives have endorsed green 

building, renewable energy, energy efficiency, water conservation and recycling, all of which hold great potential 

for U.S. exporters. 

Bill’s dedication to his community is 

demonstrated by his 36-year commitment to public service, business development, and training. Though Bill retires on October 1, 2012, as director of 

the U.S. Commercial Service in Reno, I 

look forward to his continued contributions to the Silver State. 

REMEMBERING OFFICER MARK A. 

TAULBEE 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I 

come to the floor to report to my colleagues some sad news. A brave Kentucky law-enforcement officer has fallen in the line of duty. Officer Mark A. 

Taulbee of the Hodgenville, KY, police 

department was killed on Sunday, September 16, when his police vehicle 

crashed during the pursuit of a suspect. 

Officer Taulbee had been with the 

Hodgenville Police Department for 13 

months. Prior to that, he had been a 

deputy with the Butler County Sheriff’s Department for 3 years. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth and two 

children, Audra and Austin. 

Officer Taulbee upheld a great tradition of service and sacrifice that is observed by the many men and women in 

local, State, and national law enforcement across America. Our country 

owes them a debt of gratitude for putting their lives on the line to protect 

us and our communities. 

Tragically, Officer Taulbee is the 

first and only Hodgenville police officer ever lost in the performance of his 

duty. Across America, 84 law enforcement officers have fallen in the line of 

duty in 2012. That includes two from 

the Commonwealth of Kentucky, out of 

a total of approximately 7,800 sworn 

law enforcement officers statewide. 

I know my Senate colleagues will 

join me in sending my deepest sympathies to Officer Taulbee’s family and 

his colleagues at the Hodgenville Police Department. We have the deepest 

admiration and respect for police officers in every community across America. 

We recognize theirs is both an honorable job and a dangerous one. They 

bravely risk their lives for ours, and 

America appreciates everything they 

do. We cannot be grateful enough for 

them and their families. 

Mr. President, a recent article appeared on the Web site of television 

news station WAVE–3 of Louisville 

paying tribute to Officer Taulbee and 

noting the loss felt by his fellow officers. I ask unanimous consent that 

said article be printed in the RECORD. 

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

[From WAVE3.com, Sept. 18, 2012] 

HODGENVILLE POLICE CHIEF REMEMBERS

FALLEN OFFICER

HODGENVILLE, KY (WAVE).—Services have 

been set for a Hodgenville police officer who 

died in the line of duty. 

Officer Mark Taulbee, 44, had been a longtime law-enforcement officer in eastern Kentucky before moving to Hodgenville a little 

more than a year ago. 

Despite being at the department a short 

time, the chief said Officer Taulbee had a 

lasting impact on the police force. 

‘‘Just like family. It’s really hard,’’ said 

Hodgenville Police Chief Steve Johnson. 

‘‘We’re very tight, and it’s been a shock to 

all of us.’’ 

The police department of five now prepares 

to say goodbye to one of its own. 

‘‘I am thinking this is the only officer 

we’ve ever lost in the line of duty,’’ Johnson 

said. 

A makeshift memorial of crosses can be 

found where the crash happened. 

Taulbee was chasing a suspect around 3:00 

Saturday morning. 

In the midst of the case, another call came 

into 911. ‘‘A lady said a police car had 

wrecked in front of her house and the officer 

was laying outside the vehicle,’’ Johnson 

said. 

Taulbee was rushed to a hospital. ‘‘His wife 

was working at Hardin Memorial Hospital 

when he arrived. She’s an X-ray technician,’’ 

Johnson said. 

It’s believed that’s the last time she saw 

him. He was then rushed to University of 

Louisville Hospital. 

‘‘My understanding was that he was on his 

way to surgery or to X-rays and his heart 

stopped. They did CPR but were unable to 

bring him back,’’ Johnson said. 

Johnson said his phone has been ringing 

non-stop with calls from across the country, 

offering support. 

‘‘Hopkinsville and Elizabethtown are going 

to send officers over to work the city so all 

my units can go to his funeral. I guess that’s 

what’s hitting us so hard. It’s the suddenness 

of it. It’s just hard,’’ Johnson said. 

Services for Officer Taulbee will be held at 

the Hodgenville Civic Center. Visitation is 

set for Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. and Friday 

9 a.m. to noon. The funeral will begin at 

noon on Friday. 

The officer leaves behind a wife, a 20-yearold daughter and a 16-year-old son. 

f 

REMEMBERING GEORGE 

WASHINGTON ‘G.W.’ GRIFFIN 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I 

rise today to mourn the loss of a good 

man, an honored Kentuckian, and a 

dear friend. Mr. George Washington 

Griffin passed away on December 19, 

2011, from complications of pneumonia 

at the age of 85. He is deeply missed by 

all those who knew and loved him. 

George—known to his friends as 

G.W.—was a fixture of the Laurel 

County community and a leader in the 

region and the Commonwealth. A coowner and former chairman emeritus 

of the Laurel Grocery Company, G.W. 

served on the National American 

Wholesale Grocers Board of Governors 

for two terms beginning in 1967. He was 

elected president of the Kentucky 

Wholesale Grocers Association in 1979, 

and the Kentucky Grocers Association/ 

Kentucky Association of Convenience 

Stores honored Mr. Griffin as Kentucky Grocer of the Year in 1986. 

When George retired from the grocery industry in 1997, he left the Laurel 

Grocery Company well positioned for 

success in the 21st century. Fellow 

members of the grocers industry across 

Kentucky honored G.W. as one of the 

original three inductees into the Kentucky Grocers Hall of Fame in 2005. 

G.W. was born in East Bernstadt, KY, 

in 1926. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute, Wake Forest University, and the University of Kentucky. 

He served in the U.S. Navy during 

World War II and was decorated with 

the Victory Medal, the American Area 

Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific 

Area Campaign Medal, and the Philippine Liberations Ribbon. 

G.W. was also very involved with the 

Cumberland Valley National Bank, Institutional Distributors, and played a 


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