[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 12497] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING THE SERVICE OF MARIE McELLIGOTT TO THE COMMUNITY OF GUAM ______ HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO of guam in the house of representatives Thursday, June 12, 2008 Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Ms. Marie O. McElligott, for her outstanding service to the community of Guam, and her countless contributions to its people. As an active member of our island community, Marie has been a great leader in both her volunteer and public service capacities. Marie has served our country for 26 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy in various capacities including communications officer, administrative officer, commanding officer for personnel support and director of family service centers and at many different ports, in Long Beach, California; London, England; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and Naples, Italy. From 1981 through 1983, Marie led the coordination of a Navy logistics support and mobilization plan, which was used during Operation Desert Storm. During the latter part of her career serving as director of Navy Family Centers in Bangor, Washington and Guam, Marie was instrumental in developing a violence protection program for the submarine community, training programs for the prevention of sexual harassment, and an affirmative action plan. In the Guam Navy Family Center, Marie led military and civilian personnel in providing counseling and other family services for as many as 15,000 military personnel and their dependents. While on Guam Marie became an active member of the community off base, and served the community for many years in various government and private non-profit organizations. Marie was the Navy ex-officio member of the then Territorial Board of Education, the cochairman of the ``Just Say No Task Force,'' a member of the Mental Health Five-Year Planning Committee on Aging, a member of the Guam Chapter of the American Red Cross Board of Directors, and the executive director of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. After retiring from the Navy in 1991, Marie returned to Guam as a civilian, and making our island her home. Since then, she has dedicated herself to the people of Guam in both government and community organizations. For 13 years she worked as the administrator of client services and family counseling for the Superior Court of Guam. Under her guidance, a law to create policies for diversion and family violence prevention was passed. She also chaired the committee that created guidelines for Guam's only family visitation center. Her efforts have been recognized through numerous awards and accolades, including an induction into the Ancient Order of the Chamorri--the highest honor bestowed upon non-native residents of Guam; resolutions of commendation from the Guam Territorial Board of Education; Legislative Resolutions from the Twentieth, Twenty-Sixth and Twenty- Eighth Guam Legislatures; and a Resolution of Commendation from the Judiciary of Guam. For the last 3 years, Marie worked as the director of Guam's Lighthouse Recovery Center under the Salvation Army, managing a staff of 10 to provide food and shelter to the homeless and counseling and rehabilitation to those suffering from drug addiction on Guam. Her work has resulted in the implementation of a quarterly ``clean and sober'' event for Lighthouse Recovery Center residents, members of Alcoholics Anonymous, and supportive Aftercare clients. She has also been instrumental in growing the financial base for the Lighthouse Recovery Center with military chapels and non-profit organizations. Marie's knowledge and expertise has been a significant contribution to the operations of Guam's community service organizations. Over the years she has served as president and vice chair of the Guam Women's Club, and has also been an active member and chairperson of the Guam American Cancer Society, Guam American Red Cross, and the Guam Humanities Council, amongst many others. To date, Marie has given over 10 years of her personal time and commitment to advancing the issues and objectives of local non-profit organizations. Marie has been a part of our community for over 20 years and our island will be saddened by her departure, we will remain forever grateful for the service she has given to Guam. On behalf of the people of Guam, I extend our sincere appreciation to Marie O. McElligott for her service to our Nation and to our community. We wish her the best as she embarks on a new journey in life. ____________________