February 4, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 21 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING JOSEPH RUSS IV

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 4, 2019

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Joseph Russ IV, 
who passed away on January 12, 2019. His advocacy for ranching and 
timber communities was vital to rural areas in Humboldt County and 
throughout California.
  Joe was born to Joseph and Annette Russ III in 1936 and attended the 
one-room Capetown Elementary School on the windswept Lost Coast in the 
northern part of my congressional district. He graduated from Ferndale 
High School in 1953 at the age of 16 and the next year was elected 
president of the California Future Farmers of America. He attended the 
University of California at Davis, then graduated from UC Berkeley with 
a degree in business administration. Joe later enlisted in the U.S. 
Marine Corps. Joe married Karen Lane in 1963. They were married for 55 
years and had three children and eight grandchildren.
  Joe's civic engagement spanned decades and resulted in many public 
benefits. He served 20 years on the Humboldt County Planning 
Commission, and he was president of the Humboldt Del-Norte Cattleman's 
Association, the Humboldt County Farm Bureau and the Humboldt 
Woolgrowers Association. Joe also became president of the California 
Woolgrowers Association, sat on the California State Board of Forestry, 
the state Chamber of Commerce, and the California State Fair 
Association. He was a founding member of the Stockmen's Bank of 
Commerce, the Buckeye Conservancy and the California Rangeland Trust. 
Notably, he was key to the development of the Williamson Act, which 
governs property tax rates on agricultural lands in California.
  Throughout his career, Joe knew the value of understanding politics 
and regulation as it related to the ranching and timber industries. His 
deep involvement in state and local associations and boards helped 
leave a permanent mark on rural agricultural policy in California. Joe 
was known to many as a vast resource for all things related to 
agriculture and had a deep sense of the region's history. He was a 
guiding example for ranchers trying to balance the hard work of 
ranching with the need for advocacy at the state and local levels.
  Madam Speaker, Joseph Russ IV's contributions to agriculture and the 
communities of the Second Congressional District and the state of 
California, and his service to the country, are commendable and worthy 
of recognition. I urge my colleagues to join me in my deep appreciation 
of him.

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