Volume 154, No. 127 covering the 2nd Session of the 110th Congress (2007 - 2008) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO MARVIN HAMMOND” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1582-E1583 on July 29, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO MARVIN HAMMOND
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HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.
of tennessee
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, Marvin Hammond, a longtime friend, has now retired for the second time, first from Knoxville Utilities Board, and now from the Hallsdale-Powell Utility District.
I did all sorts of odd jobs as a boy--selling programs and refreshments at ball games, mowing yards--but my first hourly-pay job was as a groundskeeper at Holston-Chilhowee Ball Park in East Knoxville.
I was 15, and I made $1.00 an hour. My first boss was a 19-year-old named Marvin Hammond. He worked under Coach Raleigh Johnson, but Marvin was the one who told me what to do.
From that time in the early 1960s, I have thought of Marvin Hammond as one of the finest men I have ever known.
He went from his job as manager of Holston High School athletic teams to a position as a trainer in the Cincinnati Reds Farm System and got to know many of the all-time great baseball players, such as Pete Rose and others.
He spent most of his career as an executive with the Knoxville Utilities Board. He was one of the most popular and respected employees of KUB.
I remember my first race for Congress in 1988 when he was driving me and some other people on a campaign swing to some distant parts in our district.
One of the other campaigners, jokingly but pretending to be serious, complained about his ``huge'' utility bill. Marvin, very concerned, said, ``Lance, How much was it?'' When Lance replied ``$36,'' Marvin almost ran off the road.
I remember another time when I was a judge, Marvin found that I was Cubmaster of a Cub Scout troop. He told me he could get several canoes from another church and he knew some people who owned a dairy farm 45 miles away with a big lake on it.
He spent his whole day getting the canoes, helping the boys tour the farm, do the canoe rides, cook out, and then load everything back up for the return.
When I was first starting my law practice and needing to make some money, Marvin told me he was head of off-campus instruction in Knoxville for Walters State Community College.
He hired me, for $500 a semester, to teach political science, I believe for three semesters. Many of the students were police officers, which also helped me in my law practice.
So, you can see, Madam Speaker, that Marvin Hammond has had a big influence on my life. I am very grateful to him.
But he has helped so many people over the years, and I am certain he has made his community and the Nation much better by all he has done.
Sandra Clark, another longtime friend and the publisher of the Halls Shopper News, has written a column in tribute to Marvin Hammond. I would like to have it reprinted in the Record and call it to the attention of my colleagues and others.
Missing Marvin
If ever there was a man who opted to wear out rather than rust out, it is Marvin Hammond.
He's retired again, but don't count on it sticking with Marvin.
A crisis in Maynardville left folks without water over the Fourth of July holiday. City officials asked Hallsdale-Powell Utility District for help, and Hammond was quick to respond.
``Hook them up,'' he said, ``and we'll work out the paperwork later.''
``One man told me he had a shower for the first time in 10 days,'' Hammond said last week.
Utility districts network in order to sell water across systems when necessary. Maynardville Utility District had not tapped into HPUD's new water plant on Norris Lake. There are issues with water pressure and leaks up there, but these are engineering concerns--fixable.
Hammond had the vision to build a new water plant on Norris Lake and to expand the one on Melton Hill Lake. Hallsdale-Powell customers won't be running out of water. And Hammond leaves the district in a position to sell water to our neighbors.
Hammond was named president of HPUD in 2000. He took the title president emeritus last week as Darren Cardwell was elevated to the top job. Cardwell is just the third leader of HPUD, the district built by general manager Allan Gill of Powell.
Hammond, who earlier had retired from KUB, found a district with money in the bank and low rates; he left a district in debt with substantially higher rates.
Construction foreman Greg McCloud said it best: ``Hallsdale was getting bigger (more customers), but we were not getting better.''
Hammond set out to improve customer relations and to build partnerships with regulatory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. He replaced much of the 150 miles of 2-inch galvanized water line and looked for leaks that were draining off 39 percent of HPUD's treated water. He hired engineers and consultants to upgrade the wastewater system and put a halt to violations at the treatment plant.
Engineer Nick Jackson said no violations have been reported for 25 consecutive months, and HPUD will receive the Water Environment Association operational excellence award this week at the WEA conference in Knoxville. The award covers a 2-state region of Kentucky and Tennessee.
Hammond is credited with development of a long range strategic plan which includes expanding HPUD's service area.
In 1999, HPUD served 21,780 customers with physical plant assets of $66 million.
Today, the district serves 28,200 customers with physical plant assets of $144 million.
Sometimes we just get lucky.
Halls and Powell residents were blessed with the leadership of Allan Gill--a man with military bearing who brooked no nonsense and built a water system through grit and willpower.
Likewise, we were blessed with the leadership of Marvin Hammond--a man with vision for the future and the courage to raise the rates to pay for progress.
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