Mr. PUTNAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Robert B. Gilbertson, Jr., the innovative leader of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA. After more than 20 years with the Tampa YMCA, Bob is leaving Florida for Seattle in order to serve as the CEO of the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

During his tenure, Bob, led an effort to greatly expand the Tampa YMCA by the creation of 12 new branches throughout Hillsborough County. The expansion effort has resulted in the YMCA membership growing from 5,000 to 130,000 members and their yearly budget has grown from around $1,000,000 to over $33,000,000. More importantly, this expansion has provided the opportunity for the YMCA to expand its charitable mission of building strong kids, strong families and strong communities. No child or family is turned away from the YMCA due to their inability to pay. Today, scholarships are provided to over 30,000 children and families so they can enjoy one of the largest social service charitable organizations operating in Hillsborough County.

I met with Bob recently at the Brandon Family YMCA where he introduced me to some very special children who were involved in the foster care system. I was proud to play a role in ensuring that the U.S. Department of Labor provided the Tampa YMCA with funding to create a job training program for youth aging-out of the foster system. This extremely important program will be one of Bob's lasting legacies in Tampa.

Bob Gilbertson has certainly made his mark in Tampa and I am grateful for the leadership he has provided. I wish him great success as he moves to Seattle.