“I am honoring Robert Bentley, a Vietnam War veteran from Ohio. He left high school in 1968 to join the Army. His local school board just gave him an honorary high school diploma, and I congratulate him.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a homegrown veteran and great American hero, Mr. Robert Bentley. Known as ``Bob’’ by his friends and family, Mr. Bentley was a student at Jefferson High School in Adams County, Ohio, in 1968, when he made the courageous decision to leave school and answer the call to serve his country as a teenager. After attending basic and advanced military training, Bob served in Vietnam as a Specialist 4 in the United States Army from April 1969 to December 1970. Bob joined countless young Americans who set aside their own personal ambitions to defend the Nation they loved. His honorable service left a lasting legacy in his family, community, and our great Buckeye State. I am proud to not only commend Bob for his selfless service but to congratulate him for being awarded an honorary high school diploma by the Adams County Ohio Valley School Board in recognition of his sacrifice and dedication. My staff was honored to attend his ceremony and present him with a congressional commendation as well. We congratulate Bob. This year, his high school education is complete. Veterans like Bob continue to inspire those in southern Ohio and the whole Nation through outstanding courage, deep patriotism, and remarkable selflessness. It is heroes like him that preserve our Nation’s values and the freedoms that we hold so dear. We thank Bob for his service.”

“I want to congratulate high school baseball coach Chris Veidt for winning 500 games. He has coached for 35 years and helped many young athletes succeed.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the White Oak High School’s head baseball coach Chris Veidt for his 500th career win this year. As a long-standing head coach of 35 years, Coach Veidt has made his mark not only on the diamond but throughout Highland County as well. Buckeye baseball has always been in Coach Veidt’s blood. After graduating from Logan High School in 1982, he played competitively at the University of Rio Grande and Wilmington College, where he ultimately earned a degree in physical education. He went on to obtain a master’s in health and sports science from the University of Dayton. Go Fliers. Afterward, he applied his extensive knowledge as an assistant coach for the Wilmington baseball team, helping the Quakers clinch the State championship in 1989. Over the course of his coaching career, Coach Veidt has earned five SHAC Coach of the Year Awards, nine Southeast District Coach of the Year honors, multiple State and regional recognitions, and was inducted into the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2024. He earned a place in the Southeast District Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014, and has served as an OHSBCA State Poll voter since 1993. To top it all off, Coach Veidt was awarded the OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award at the end of the 2026 season. It is devoted figures like Coach Veidt whose impact stretches far beyond the baseball field and into the lives of their players, their families, and their communities. The mentorship, leadership, and commitment he has demonstrated toward hundreds of student-athletes has developed the next generation of leaders. He has cheered his players on for nearly four decades, and now Ohio is rooting for him. I congratulate Coach Veidt on a storied career and 500 wins.”

“I want to honor Dr. John Seidensticker as he retires. He worked as a doctor in southern Ohio for nearly sixty years and helped create our local hospice program.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding southern Ohioan who has served thousands of Chillicothe families for nearly six decades, Dr. John Seidensticker. Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, John attended medical school and started working in internal medicine at the Chillicothe Hospital in 1967. After gaining experience, he moved over to endocrinology, which he ultimately specialized in. Over the decades of practicing medicine, John served multiple generations of Buckeye families and witnessed firsthand how advancing technologies changed the medical field. When the Chillicothe Hospital became Adena Health in the late 1990s, John was instrumental in creating their hospice program after seeing a need for additional care in our local aging population. John took pride in getting to know his patients over the years and became well known in the community for his genuine concern and excellent care. This year marks his retirement after an incredible 59 years of practicing medicine. John shared that he loves his work and will find it challenging to step back into this new season but is looking forward to spending time in his home workshop making canes and walking sticks. Even in his retirement, he will be contributing in a new way to help people meet their community’s needs. I thank Dr. Seidensticker for his tremendous dedication to our community and congratulate him on his retirement. It is because of outstanding health care providers like him that generations of southern Ohio families are able to live healthier and more prosperous lives.”