November 20, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2301 

They all have proven themselves to be true 

patriots. It has been my privilege to have them 

as advisors on military issues. On behalf of 

our Armed Forces I thank them for their continued service. 

f 

HONORING THE WORK OF CHIEF 

VERNON A. LOSH II 

HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today along with my colleague, Congressman 

MIKE THOMPSON, to honor Chief Vernon A. 

Losh II, who is retiring this month as chief/department director of the Sonoma County Department of Emergency Services. He has held 

the position since June 1999, and also served 

concurrently for over 5 years as fire chief of 

Rancho Adobe Fire Protection District. 

Chief Losh has had a long and distinguished career in fire and emergency services, starting in 1974 with the South Placer 

Fire Protection District where he eventually 

held every rank from volunteer firefighter to 

full-time battalion chief. He came to Sonoma 

County in 1995 as deputy chief/fire marshal 

for the Department of Emergency Services 

and became chief a few years later with responsibility for all aspects of the department’s 

work. He deftly managed 23 full-time employees, over 350 volunteers, and a budget of 

$7.5 million. 

With extensive education in emergency 

management, including being one of the first 

twelve people certified in the State of California as a fire chief, Chief Losh has shared 

his expertise for years as a community college 

fire service instructor and also as chair of the 

Santa Rosa Community College Fire Tech Advisory Committee. A long list of professional 

affiliations—from local to international—are a 

testament to both his spirit of community volunteerism and the high regard with which he 

is held by his peers. He has been president of 

the Sonoma County Fire Chiefs Association, 

Sonoma County Department Heads Association, and the Northern California Firefighters 

Association, to name a few. 

Shortly after the anthrax and 911 terrorist 

attacks on our country, we met with Vern Losh 

and other Sonoma County officials. We were 

particularly impressed by the level of emergency preparedness as well as by plans to 

continuously upgrade and improve equipment 

and procedures. These efforts, directed by a 

coordinated leadership effort, clearly paid off 

when much of the county was affected by severe flooding a few years ago. The response 

was swift and organized, mitigating what could 

have been a serious disaster. 

The Losh family is also a source of pride to 

Vern. His wife Teresa is an accountant at the 

Sonoma County Office of Education and marathon walker for several charitable causes; his 

son Allen is a specialist in the Army serving as 

a combat medic ready to be deployed to Iraq 

on Thanksgiving Day; his daughter Whitney is 

a student at San Francisco State in the public 

health field. Whitney just finished her first marathon for Leukemia Lymphoma Society. 

Perhaps since, as his biography states, he 

‘‘currently serves as the Grand Emperor of the 

Cosmic Order of Fire Gods, an honor he has 

held since birth,’’ Vern Losh won’t fully retire. 

He plans to continue as chair of the SonomaMendocino Red Cross, chair of the Volunteer 

Fire Fighter Committee of the California State 

Fire Fighters Association, and as the California representative to the National Volunteer 

Fire Council. He will also become a volunteer 

firefighter for the City of Healdsburg. And he 

will continue his teaching at the California 

Community College. 

Madam Speaker, Sonoma County will miss 

the skills of Chief Vernon Losh, but we thank 

him for helping to make our emergency services strong. We know he will appreciate having time for his family and his hobbies—photography, football and all sports, attending Giants and 49er games, and firefighting. 

f 

HONORING LINDA RAWLS OF 

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA 

HON. MIKE THOMPSON OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam 

Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, 

Congresswoman LYNN WOOLSEY, to honor and 

acknowledge Linda Rawls, who has been 

named the 2008 Sonoma Treasure Artist of 

the Year, or simply the Sonoma Treasure, by 

the city of Sonoma. Each year the city’s Cultural and Fine Arts Commission selects one of 

the hundreds of artists living and working in 

the Sonoma Valley to receive this honor. Ms. 

Rawls was singled out for her decade’s long 

work in costume design. 

By one account, she has fitted and costumed the stars and extras of more than 132 

productions, including those of the Sonoma 

City Opera, the Sonoma Ballet Conservatory, 

school plays at Sonoma Valley High and each 

of the grade schools, Vintage House Senior 

Center, churches and Hootchie Doo Productions, a community theatre group. Her talents 

have led her to create designs for productions 

in neighboring counties, including 42nd Street 

Moon productions in San Francisco. 

According to Ms. Rawls, ‘‘Costumes have to 

do everything. A show can have no scenery, 

but with a woman’s dress or a man’s hat, you 

can decipher the time and place in an instant.’’ 

She calls costumes the ‘‘elemental scenery of 

a play, telling more about character and context than anything else on stage.’’ 

Ms. Rawls stumbled into her artistic calling 

26 years ago when the costume designer for 

a school opera in which her 8-year-old son 

was performing unexpectedly quit. She volunteered to step in and has been following her 

passion ever since. 

Her peers have acknowledged Ms. Rawls 

work by awarding her the Best First Day Costume Award from the International Gilbert and 

Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, in 1996 

and the Dean Goodman Choice Award for 

Outstanding Achievement in Theatre for Costume Design in 2003. 

Madam Speaker, Linda Rawls is a true artist 

in every sense of the word and it is appropriate that we honor her today as the 2008 

Sonoma Treasure Artist of the Year. 

HONORING FRANK C. TROTTA 

HON. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP 

OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. BISHOP of New York. Madam Speaker, 

I rise today to honor one of Long Island’s finest public servants, Frank C. Trotta, who recently left office after serving for a quarter 

century as mayor of the village of Bellport—a 

historic community, which, thanks in no small 

part to Mayor Trotta’s leadership, has successfully preserved its character and identity. 

On October 30, I was proud to join the 

Bellport Chamber of Commerce in honoring 

Mayor Trotta for his steadfast commitment and 

countless contributions to the people of 

Bellport. This tribute was celebrated at the 

Bellport Country Club, which could not have 

been a more appropriate location considering 

that it was losing $35,000 a year when Mayor 

Trotta entered office. 

Today, the golf course generates more than 

$1 million a year in revenue for Long Island’s 

economy which is one of the main reasons 

that village taxes are among the lowest on 

Long Island. 

During his tenure, Mayor Trotta demonstrated a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility and low taxes while protecting vital 

government services. His legacy is clear: 

Today, Bellport is on solid financial footing and 

has been recognized by CNN and Money 

Magazine as one of the best places to live on 

the east coast and is 1 of the 10 ‘‘hottest’’ Zip 

Codes in New York State. 

I have been privileged to know Frank Trotta 

for nearly 35 years, long before either of us 

entered public service. We attended graduate 

classes together in the summer of 1974 at 

Southampton College and I am proud to say 

that we have been friends ever since. I 

watched with great pride as Frank’s career 

blossomed. As someone who was new to public service when I was elected to Congress in 

2002, I learned a lot simply by watching and 

talking to Frank. 

Although Frank and I do not belong to the 

same political party, we share a common philosophy, which is that you always put the 

needs of the community first. There must always be a place in public service for a man 

like Frank Trotta who understands that political 

partisanship has no place in village government and we should all treat one another with 

courtesy and civility. 

For anyone who has ever walked with Frank 

during Bellport’s Fourth of July parade, it is 

plain to see how much he loves his community and how much that community loves him. 

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to help honor my 

friend, Frank Trotta, for his years of service to 

the village of Bellport and our Nation. On behalf of New York’s First Congressional District, 

I wish him continued success, happiness and 

good health in his future endeavors as a private citizen and one of Long Island’s favorite 

sons. 


smartinez on PROD1PC64 with REMARKS