af ge american federation of government employees-union local 264! , July 9, 1973 Mr. Alvin J. Arnett Director Designate Office of Economic Opportunity Washington, D. C. 20506 Dear Mr. Arnett: Your memorandum to all OEO employees dated June 30, 1973 was received The members of our union want you to know that we appreciate the new attitude signaled by your memo. We are most anxious to get back to work" in implementing the Economic Opportunity Act and we pledge our full support in assisting you to fulfill the objectives articulated in your June 30 communication. I wanted you to know how favorably your nomination and initial This first became apparent when your "Memorandum to All OEO I personally am most appreciative of this type of support and Cordially E. Gonzales Eugene Gonzales Acting Regional Director CC: D. Houston The CHAIRMAN. At this time I order printed the statement of the senior Senator from West Virginia, Hon. Jennings Randolph, who is the ranking majority member of this committee. STATEMENT OF HON. JENNINGS RANDOLPH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA Senator RANDOLPH. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to join Senator Beall in introducing Mr. Al Arnett to our committee. He is a West Virginian. I think his presence here is most significant. As we all know, OEO was conceived in the West Virginia hills in the 1960 Kennedy primary. It should be noted also that during that same period the concept of the Appalachian regional development program was brought forward, and it is from the Appalachian Regional Commission that Mr. Arnett has come. Al Arnett made his mark in West Virginia early. He was president of the student body at South Charleston High School in 1953. He was a member of the National Honor Society and attended Mountaineer Boys State in 1953. He went on to Marshall College in Huntington, W. Va., where he was an honor student, selected to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, the national leadership honor society, the national political science honor society, and other organizations. In 1957 Mr. Arnett entered the Coast Guard. He served in a variety of duty stations for 10 years when his first wife, a West Virginia girl, died. He left the Coast Guard after that to dedicate himself to the people of Appalachia. I believe his stewardship at the Appalachian Regional Commission to be one of competence, warmth, creativity, excellence, and commitment. I would like you to read the citation when he left the commission as its executive director, and ask that it be printed in the record. At a time in the life of this agency filled with uncertainty it is important it be led by a man the Congress can trust and call upon. It is also important to be led by an experienced leader. Al Arnett has been the director of an agency, like OEO, designed to alleviate the plight of people in depressed areas. It is appropriate and important that he be confirmed. [The information referred to follows:] APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION RESOLUTION NUMBER 304 A RESOLUTION In Appreciation of Services to the Appalachian Regional Commission The Appalachian Regional Commission wishes to express its appreciation to Alvin J. Amett for his unique, imaginative and fruitful services to the Appalachian Program over the years he has been associated with the Commission, as a member of the Commission's staff, an Assistant to the Federal Cochairman and most recently over the past 14 months, as Executive Director of the Commission. Many, who have worked in this program for the development of the Region, have shared a deep commitment to its objectives, but few have approached, and none have surpassed, Al Amett in depth and sincerity of feeling for the people of Appalachia. Born in Kentucky and reared in West Virginia, Al Amett is truly a man of the Region. He knows and feels the problems of Appalachia's neglected coal miners; he comprehends the paradox of pride and poverty of the mountaineer. The problems he dealt with at the Appalachian Regional Commission we're not academic exercises for him - they represented and, thus, his work here was really a labor of love. Few have given so deeply of their time and talents with such a personal commitment to the people of Appalachia. 20-597 - 73 - 2 |