Recognizing Marie Bienkowski

Floor Speech

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Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding contributions that Ms. Marie Bienkowski has made to our community through her volunteerism as part of the Save Crystal River Board of Directors. She has helped forge a path to secure more than $50M in funding to meet the agency's original goal of restoring nearly 100 acres of waterways by the City of Crystal River's 100th Year Anniversary on July 3, 2023. To date, more than 850 new spring vents have been opened, 107 plus acres have been cleaned of 680M plus pounds of lyngbya algae and detrital materials from the riverbeds, and 590,000 plus eelgrass plants have been hand-planted. The native grasses provide a natural healthy habitat for fish, birds, and crabs, and are a source of nutrition for the manatees. Marie's generosity of her time, guidance, and commitment to educate elementary school children, business owners, and State of Florida leadership about the importance of clean water and environmental health, reflects her personal nature of resiliency as a resident of Crystal River. Like so many other residents, she has expenenced the hefty challenges of multiple hurricanes and tornadoes, and she has always come right back to lead the charge to make Florida and our spring systems one of the outstanding gems of the United States, not only for residents but also for the millions of visitors who come here every year to fish and swim with the manatees in Crystal River, the ``home of the manatees.'' In this year of our focus on resiliency, Marie embodies the very essence of resilience, and she is therefore a ``Hero Among Us'' for Save Crystal River.

It is clear that Marie Bienkowski has made a profoundly positive impact on our community, and I am grateful for her service. May we all strive to serve our communities with the same dedication and humility.

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