Congresswoman Laura Richardson Rises to Pay Tribute to the Late Paul Duncan

Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to rise to pay tribute to the late Paul Duncan, the Director of Outreach for the Long Beach Community Business Network, LBCBN, and one of the leading and influential figures in the LGBT community of Long Beach, California.

Paul Duncan died on August 6, from an aneurysm in Las Vegas where he was representing the LBCBN at the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce's weeklong conference in Las Vegas. He was 72 years old.

Paul Duncan was born November 18, 1937, in Pueblo, Colo. A short time later, he and his family relocated to Los Angeles. He began his professional life in banking and later opened his own insurance and property management company and published equine magazines. He later lived in Australia, where he managed a horse ranch and deer farm for many years, before returning to the United States and settling in Long Beach.

Those who knew and worked with Paul describe him as a figure larger than life, and not just because of his imposing 6-foot-3-inch frame and fondness for cowboy hats and boots, but because of the bigger impact he had on people. Wherever he went, whomever he met, Paul made you feel that you were his ''mate.''

According to Stacey O'Byrne, president of the LBCBN, ''Paul created a vision that crossed cultural, political and generational boundaries. He was full of cheer and endless dedication to helping new and existing gay and gay-friendly businesses create lifelong bonds with other members of the community.''

Paul Duncan spent the last ten years of his life working tirelessly to connect LBCBN, known informally as the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to business organizations from Hawaii to Washington, DC. Mr. Speaker, the untimely death of Paul Duncan is a great loss to his family and to countless persons who counted him as a friend. He leaves giant shoes to fill but I am confident that the work he began and advanced will be continued by all of us who have been inspired by his example.

I would like to request a moment of silence in his honor and memory.