Statement Honoring the Life of Mitch Mulas

Mr. Speaker, it is with both great sadness and a sense of great honor that I rise today, along with my colleague, Lynn Woolsey, to honor and pay tribute to Mitchell ``Mitch'' Mulas, of Sonoma, California, who passed away March 31, 2011 of complications following heart surgery.

It is no exaggeration to say that Mitch Mulas was an icon in Sonoma County and a role model for generations of fire fighters, teachers and students, and farmers. He represented the best in community service and in devotion to his family.

Mitch was born in 1928 in Sonoma, California, the son of an Italian immigrant father and a mother who survived the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. He met his wife, Nilda when he was 15 and she was 13. They had their first date three years later, and three years following that, they were married. Nilda was his partner, friend and soul mate and survives him in his passing.

Mitch was a dairy farmer and a leader in the county's agricultural organizations. He joined the Farm Bureau after he graduated from high school and served as President from 1965-1967 and 1985-1986. He was inducted into the Sonoma County Farm Bureau Hall of Fame in 2002.

He took a brief hiatus from leadership positions within the Farm Bureau to serve on the Sonoma Valley Unified School Board for 12 years from 1969 to 1981. His influence stretched from the classroom to the football field, where he anchored a favorite spot in the bleachers each season. Not only did he receive the district's ``Salute to Education'' award but the Sonoma Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame created the Mulas Family Recognition Award in his honor, which is presented annually to persons or businesses in the Sonoma Valley who have contributed time and resources to student athletes and coaches.

Mitch was also the ``Chief,'' a title he wore with distinction and pride. In 1942, at the age 14, he helped his father start what later became the Shell-Vista Fire Protection District. He served first as a volunteer firefighter, was named Assistant Chief in 1955 and served in that position until he was named Chief in 1968. He served in that position until his death.

Mr. Speaker, Mitch Mulas was a farmer, educator, activist and sports enthusiast who also protected his community for 69 years as a fire fighter. But above all else, he was a devoted family man who is survived by his wife, Nilda, four children, six grandchildren and two great grand children. An entire community mourns his passing, and it is appropriate that we honor him at this time.