Recognizing Mr. John Wintersteen

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, Congressman Stanton, to posthumously honor Mr. John Wintersteen, a dedicated public servant of Paradise Valley and a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. Mr. Wintersteen led the Paradise Valley Police Department as police chief from 1995 to 2009, protecting our local communities and showing exemplary care for the safety of residents across Paradise Valley. He founded the community's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration nearly 26 years ago, helping to grow the celebration of Dr. King's life from 10 to 15 people when it first began to over 250 people coming to celebrate Dr. King's legacy. In retirement, Mr. Wintersteen continued to stay involved with the community by volunteering for the Rotary Club of Southwest USA and served on the board of Empire of Hope, where he helped fight issues of poverty and unemployment and promoted education and medical care in African countries. He also worked with the Creighton Community Foundation to provide food for families of students struggling with food insecurity.

I join the entire Paradise Valley community in mourning the loss of Mr. Wintersteen and extend my condolences to his family. While this year's MLK Day Celebration will undoubtedly be different without Mr. Wintersteen, I'm confident we will honor his memory at this event which he worked incredibly hard to bring our community together for. He had an unparalleled impact on everyone who knew him, and he will be deeply missed.

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