Visits with Congressman Runyan

It seems like the last month was one long Congressional visit!

We first met Congressman Jon Runyan at the Harrington Middle School where he visited Ms. Maureen Barrett’s 7^th and 8^th graders in the Environmental Club. Wes Dalzell, Frank Vives, who taught the initial “Shellfish in the Classroom” program, joined in the visit along with Rick Bushnell and Charlie Brandt. The students made quite an impression on the Congressman as they outlined why oysters were important to the bay and how they were monitoring the growth of oysters in their classroom. If you visit the web site for Congressman Runyan you can read his office’s release on the visit, and see pictures of the visit. http://runyan.house.gov/

The following Saturday, RCTB was again with the Congressman at an event created by the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce. Rick and many of the local politicians participated when the Congressman cut a ribbon opening the Long Beach Island beaches for the summer. What was the ribbon hung between? Of course two of RCTB’s Giant Clams!

Our final contact in a period of about 10 days happened when Bruce Beveridge and Charlie Brandt were working the RCTB booth at Waretown’s Founders day. The Mayor of Waretown came running around the corner yelling “Where is ReClam The Bay, Where is ReClam The Bay! The Congressman wants to see ReClam The Bay”. Well Bruce and Charlie got the booth in order and the Mayor collected Congressman Runyan and prepared to make introductions. By then, on the third visit, and to the Mayor’s surprise, the Congressman ducked down and got under the RCTB tent, and it was “Hi Charlie” and “Hi Jon”.

We are developing a good relationship with this freshman Congressman, and we all can expect a visit at any Fair rFestival we both attend. The Congressman is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs, and his district stretches across New Jersey from Burlington County to the communities on the Atlantic Ocean including all the towns around Barnegat Bay.

While RCTB is non-political, it doesn’t hurt to have friends in high places. Rick saw to the fact that both the Congressman and his adjutant Brandon Umba got RCTB shirts. We only hope that the 3X size for the Congressman fits this former Philadelphia Eagles lineman!