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Rep. Pete Stark

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge and thank Vince Panvini for his decades of service on behalf of sheet metal workers locally, nationally and internationally. Panvini's retirement from his position as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association is a great loss to the community of sheet metal workers and to the labor community as a whole.

Throughout his career, Panvini has proven himself as a first-rate organizer and representative of his union members. For close to 50 years, this second-generation sheet metal worker has been a member of Local Union 19 in Philadelphia. He won election as a Local 19 trustee and later to their Executive Board. He rose to an appointment as Local Union Organizer, then was appointed--and later elected--as Business Representative for the Local. After attending training at Harvard Trade School for International Labor Relations, he was appointed as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association in January 1994.

His success, friends and coworkers have said, is characterized by the fact that Panvini was ``born to do this work.'' His love of the job combined with his unparalleled memory and ``funny but stern'' personality has won him leagues of friends and allies. These attributes also won him great respect among peers, politicians, organizers, community leaders and union workers.

The labor community's loss at Panvini's retirement, however, will be his family's gain--a noble tradeoff. With a return to Philadelphia, he'll get quality time with family, his top priority. Panvini has a son, a daughter and four grandchildren. On top of that, Panvini will have more time to cheer on his Philadelphia Eagles.

I thank Vince Panvini for his years of service and wish him well in retirement.