Gabby_ A Story of Courage and Hope - Alison Hanson [152]
Pam Simon is the kind of employee who, you could say, would “take a bullet for her boss,” and that is exactly what she did. Pam, we thank you for your service to Gabby and to this country. We also want to thank Dr. David Bowman, Nancy Bowman, Dr. David Beal, Anna Ballis, and Gabby’s intern, Daniel Hernandez, who administered first aid to Gabby and the other victims. And thanks go out to Gabby’s staff members Mark Kimble and Sara Humel Rajca, and her intern Alex Villec, who were at the Congress on Your Corner event on January 8 and were put in harm’s way serving their country. I took much comfort in knowing that Gabby had a trusted spokesperson in C.J. Karamargin who worked tirelessly to speak on Gabby’s behalf, when she couldn’t, over these many months.
Thirteen people were shot on January 8 and survived. Gabby was honored that they came to participate in the democratic process that morning, and they remain in our thoughts and prayers. Besides Pam Simon and Ron Barber, they are: Bill Badger, Kenneth Dorushka, James Fuller, Randy Gardner, Suzi Hileman, George Morris, Mary Reed, Mavy Stoddard, James Tucker, and Kenneth Veeder. Gabby and I are relieved that they all seem to be recovering well.
All of us can only hope that if we’re incapacitated, our team will rise to the occasion and press on with the mission. Gabby’s Washington, D.C., office did just that. Thank you to Lauren Alfred, Peter Ambler, Gavi Begtrup, Sean Coit, Jim Dennany, Emily Fritze, Ashley Nash-Hahn, Major Josh Koslov USAF, Larry Meinert, Elaine Ulrich and all of the interns for holding down the fort.
Nothing is more important to Gabby than serving her constituents. In Gabby’s absence, her Arizona staff continued to work for the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Thank you to Tom Alston, Dan Frey, Sean Goslar, Pam Harrington, Joni Jones, Amanda Sapir, Shay Saucedo, and Patty Valera. And thank you to Molly Allen, Jamie Gershberg, Linda Quinn, Elena Ruiz, Jessica Schultz, and Hayley Zachary, who have labored to make sure that Gabby is ready to run for reelection in 2012. Their effort, along with the help of Gabby’s Finance Committee and Joan Kaye Cauthorne, has been critical to Gabby’s political career. We thank them for their dedication. We’d also like to thank Andrew Floyd, Steve Gershman, and Gary Jones. Spouses of Gabby’s supporters and staff, they have gone above and beyond for us.
We also need to thank those folks who rushed into the maelstrom to help in any possible way and continue to do so today. Thank you to Lynne Abbuhl, Liz Berry, Melissa Blaustein, Daniel Graver, Anne Hilby, Michael Hill, Maura Policelli, Danielle Raines, Melissa Rasowsky, Colin Reischl, Caryn Schenewerk, Brittni Storrs, and the dozens of other former staffers who descended on Tucson to assist Gabby and memorialize their friend Gabe.
We benefited from the expertise of Gabby’s political team: Jennifer Bluestein, Jim Crounse, Peggy Egan, Anna Greenberg, Jason Ralston, and Dave Walker. In difficult times it is so important to get great advice from smart and trusted people.
When Gabby first decided to run for national office one of the first people she contacted was Michael McNulty. Michael, the son of former Congressman Jim McNulty, is Gabby’s Campaign Chairman and a trusted advisor. He has been with her every step of the way. We thank him for that.
Gabby also wants to thank her business and political mentors. As a young CEO, Gabby reached out to Dorothy Finley, who was there for her, and has been ever since. The late Arizona State Senator Andy Nichols guided Gabby during her early career in state government, and Fred Duval helps her today.
On that tragic day, all of the victims were very fortunate to have a level-one trauma center and a great