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[Pages H5172-H5173]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THANKING DR. MICHAEL MESSINA FOR HIS SERVICE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize
Dr. Michael Messina.
Dr. Messina is retiring this week following a distinguished career in
academia. Most recently, Dr. Messina has served as the head of the
Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Pennsylvania State
University. He earned his bachelor's degree in forest science from Penn
State in 1979 and a doctorate in forestry from North Carolina State
University in 1983.
In 2009, Dr. Messina was named director of Penn State's School of
Forest
[[Page H5173]]
Resources after serving as a professor and associate department head at
Texas A&M University. He has been a great resource when it comes to
forest science and is a leader in that area.
In July 2012, he led the Penn State School of Forest Resources in the
creation of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. He has
used his years of expertise and knowledge to focus on improving the
responsible management of soil and water, healthy forests, and a
diversity of fish and wildlife species. His work has always been aimed
at preserving the beauty of the world around us for all to enjoy.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Messina for his years of service. I wish him
and his wife, Suzy, all the best in retirement.
100th Anniversary of Pennsylvania Ratifying the 19th Amendment
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the passage of
the 19th Amendment providing women the right to vote.
After Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, three-fourths of
the 48 State legislatures were needed to ratify the new amendment. This
past Monday, June 24, marks the 100th anniversary of Pennsylvania
becoming the seventh State to ratify the 19th Amendment.
Women first organized and fought for suffrage on the national level
in July of 1848 at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York. But
Pennsylvania was a center of women's rights even before the Seneca
Falls Convention occurred.
Famous suffragist Lucretia Mott joined with a diverse group of
Pennsylvania women to organize the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery
Society in 1833.
In 1840, the society sent Mott as a delegate to the World Anti-
Slavery Convention in London to protest the exclusion of women at the
convention.
Organizations like this were formed all across the Commonwealth to
focus their attention on raising awareness of the women's suffrage
cause.
The decades of effort on the local and national level by women's
suffragists resulted in Congress finally passing the 19th Amendment.
Today women play a pivotal role in our government. The 2018 elections
brought a record number of Pennsylvania women to the ballot box, and a
record number were welcomed to political office across the United
States.
Mr. Speaker, Pennsylvania can be proud of our important role in the
women's suffrage movement and securing the right to vote 100 years ago.
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