Blake Farenthold

Mr. Speaker, my office is now accepting artwork for the 2018 Congressional Art Competition.

Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual arts competition to recognize artistic talent in the Nation and in each congressional district.

In 2017, the winning entry was drawn by Drew Scott from Rockport- Fulton High School. Her piece, ``Complementary Calico,'' along with the other 2017 winning entries from other congressional districts, currently hang in the Cannon tunnel, the walkway that connects the U.S. Capitol to the House office buildings.

The Congressional Art Competition is a great way to encourage artistic abilities and reward talented students for their efforts and gives them an opportunity to compete.

Since the competition began in 1982, more than 6,500 high school students have participated.

Students from the district I represent, the 27th District of Texas, who wish to participate in this competition may submit up to two pieces of artwork to my office by Friday, April 6, 2018, in order to be considered.

I wish all the talented high schoolers of the 27th District of Texas the best of luck.

Recognizing Joyce Hunsaker

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Joyce Hunsaker, a 17-year-old from Corpus Christi, who recently won a bronze medal in the International Bunker Trap at the World Shotgun Championship in Moscow.

Joyce has been named a member of the elite 4-person Texas State National 4-H shotgun team. In June of last year, her teammates and her competed in the National Championships in Grand Island, Nebraska, where they took home first place in team skeet shooting and sporting clays, third in trap, and earned the title of National Champions for 2017.

Joyce also competed and won the Junior Women's gold medal in the 2017 State Junior Olympics international bunker trap competition last year.

Joyce then advanced to the 2017 National Junior Olympic Championships in Colorado Springs, where she took home a bronze medal in the Junior Women's International Bunker Trap event and was selected to represent the United States as a member of the 2017 Junior World Cup Team.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Joyce on all her hard work and success that she is enjoying as a result of it. Keep up the good work.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud President Trump on including $13 million for widening and deepening the project at the Port of Corpus Christi in its fiscal year 2019 budget. Widening and deepening the port is critical not only to the local economy in Corpus Christi, but to the entire Nation.

While getting the funding in the President's budget is a huge victory, it is still just an early step in a lengthy process. Congress still needs to approve and appropriate the funds for this project over multiple years.

I encourage my colleagues in the House and Senate to support this appropriation and grow the Port of Corpus Christi and our Nation's energy sector.

Corpus Christi is the Nation's largest port for energy exports, shipping out crude oil, petroleum products, and LNG. Widening the ship channel will allow for two-way barge traffic, and deepening it to 54 feet will allow for larger ships to enter and exit the port, creating more economic growth and good jobs for American workers.

This project has been one of my top priorities since coming to Congress in 2010 and will continue to be a priority as long as I am here.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in supporting this widening and deepening project.

Celebrating 100th Birthday of John McCain

Mr. Speaker, I suspect we all know Senator John McCain, but we should also know World War II veteran John McCain from Wharton, Texas, who just turned 100 years old.

Mr. McCain was born in Texas on February 15, 1918. When he was just 7 years old, he joined the workforce going door to door with his Shetland pony circulating fliers for local businesses. In the years leading up to World War II, he traveled to Los Angeles to learn to be a diesel mechanic and then promptly enlisted in the Texas National Guard, 36th Tank Company, as a diesel mechanic. On January 16, 1941, he was deployed to Fort Benning.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, McCain was deployed to Hawaii. After we defeated the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway, McCain's unit was moved to Fort Chaffee before being deployed to Europe where he and his unit swept through southern Germany and eventually met the Russian Army in Czechoslovakia in 1945.

After the war, McCain worked for a natural gas pipeline company in Liberty, Texas, for 35 years. After retiring, he moved back to his hometown of Wharton. During his retirement, he has traveled by RV to all 48 continental States and nine provinces in Canada. He has also traveled the world, visiting 42 countries. He often says: When you are 100 years old, you just go wherever the wind blows you.

Mr. McCain, thank you for your service to our country and to your community. I hope you had a great 100th birthday.

Remembering Joe Fulton

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to remember the life of a great constituent and family friend, Joe Fulton, who passed away recently at the age of 83.

Joe not only lived in Corpus Christi, but he helped shape the city's skylines. His projects, as a general contractor, include the Art Museum of South Texas; Texas State Aquarium; the Bayfront Omni Hotel; Frost Bank Tower; the Nueces County Courthouse; the Hayden Head Terminal at the Corpus Christi International Airport; and Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks, just to name a few. Fulton's work received national attention, when, in 1993, the Engineering News-Record named his company, Fulton Construction, one of the top contractors in the United States.

In addition to his work as a contractor, Joe was a member of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission from 1985 to 1998 and fought for the widening and deepening of the port. He served as chairman of the Port of Corpus Christi Commission from 1991 to 1996. He was also a board member of the Cullen/Frost Bank, trustee and chairman of the Driscoll Foundation, director of the Texas State Historical Association, chairman of the Greater Corpus Christi Business Alliance, and president of the Corpus Christi Tourist Bureau.

Joe's impact on our community will live on for a long time. We will miss you, Joe.

Mr. Speaker, recently, my office faced a tragedy when we received word that my former field representative Collin Kennedy had passed away due to injuries he had suffered in an accident.

A Manassas, Virginia, native and a West Virginia University graduate, politics ran in Collin's blood. He had worked on numerous campaigns for the Republican National Committee and interned on Capitol Hill before beginning work in my office in 2015, where he worked until last September. Collin, who was 27, served as my field representative in Victoria, Bastrop, Lavaca, Caldwell, and Gonzales Counties, where he was known for his boundless enthusiasm, positive outlook, and passion for life.

Since his death, dozens of people have left notes and messages about the strong relationship that they have shared with Collin and the lasting impact he left on our communities. They spoke of his kindness, his great attitude, and his constant willingness to lend a hand. They shared their fond memories of him attending ribbon cuttings, banquets, community meetings, and more.

One of my current staff wrote a touching tribute that described Collin as ``the gold standard of what it means to be a friend and colleague,'' and I couldn't agree more. Collin's outsized personality and exuberance were well known, and his ability to reach people and connect with them was extraordinary.

I have to admit, I was a little worried hiring a West Virginian to work in Texas. He was going to be my eyes and ears. But Collin was amazing at how easily he made friends and fit in as a transplant Texan. I was blessed to have Collin as a staff member, and my family and I were blessed to have him as a friend.

Our prayers are with his parents, Jeffrey and Susan; his brother, Zachary; the rest of his family; and countless friends.

Collin, thank you for your years of great work. You will be missed.

Remembering Robert ``Bob'' Agrifoglio

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to remember Robert ``Bob'' Agrifoglio, who passed away recently at the age of 73.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on his 17th birthday and headed to basic training in San Antonio, Texas. From there, he was deployed to Japan, Colorado Springs, and many other places. He went on to train as an aircraft loadmaster, where he flew Presidential support missions, performed airdrops, and flew missions all over the world, including South Africa, South America, and the Middle East.

Bob received orders to go to Vietnam, where he flew in numerous missions before his plane crashed, tragically, killing his fellow crew members. Despite an aggressive push to return to the skies, Bob's injuries from that crash permanently removed him from flight service.

After 17\1/2\ years on Active Duty, he went on to work at the Department of Defense safety offices for the next 17 years, before he finally retired in 1996.

Bob never stopped serving the community, helping with veterans events, volunteering to help veterans with their healthcare issues, and helping to run a weekly Tuesday veterans' coffee service with Dotson Lewis and many other veterans in the Corpus Christi area.

Thank you, Bob, for your years of service not only to our country, but to the Corpus Christi community and all of your friends and fellow veterans worldwide. You will be missed.

Remembering Don Kaspar

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to remember the life of a great constituent, Mr. Don Kaspar, who passed away, recently, at 88.

Don was born on November 24, 1928, in Shiner, Texas, where he graduated from Shiner High School in 1945. He served as the president of his class at Texas A&M, where he graduated in 1949 with a degree in agricultural administration.

He worked part-time factory jobs throughout school and served as a junior executive at Kaspar Wire Works, a

company founded in 1898 by his grandfather.

During the Korean war, Don served in the United States Army as a second lieutenant and then as a first lieutenant, receiving a Combat Infantry Badge and a Bronze Star.

He then returned to Kaspar Wire Works, now Kaspar Companies, where he became CEO, and it grew from a small company with 18 employees to a multinational enterprise with nearly 1,000 employees. I was fortunate enough to tour the company a couple of years ago with Don and learned about the success of his ventures.

Despite his busy job, Don always had time to give back to the community. He was president of the Shiner Rotary Club, director of the Shiner Hospital Foundation, the first chairman of Shiner Youth Baseball, chairman of the Shiner United Way Fund, a local scoutmaster, chairman of the board at his local church, and more.

A pillar of the Shiner community, Don was married to the late Jean Welhausen Kaspar for 52 years and leaves behind 4 sons, their wives, 10 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.

Don, we miss you.