Joe Donnelly: “today, I wish to recognize and honor the extraordinary public service of Janak ``Hodge'' Kanti Patel, who has been my…”

“today, I wish to recognize and honor the extraordinary public service of Janak ``Hodge'' Kanti Patel, who has been my State director for the past 6 years in the U.S. Senate and my district director for the prior 6 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Over 22 years in the House and Senate, Hodge has served the people of Indiana with a high level of integrity and professionalism, combined with a strong emphasis on constituent services and community engagement. A longtime resident of South Bend, IN, Hodge attended St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church and School, St. Joseph's High School, Holy Cross College, St. Mary's College, and the University Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, Hodge interned for then-Third Congressional District U.S. Congressman Tim Roemer and was hired upon graduation as a case manager, where he worked on military, veterans, and immigration case work until he was promoted to the role of field representative in that same office. In 2001, Hodge joined the staff of U.S. Senator Evan Bayh as his Northeast Indiana Regional Director, where he covered 21 counties and two offices: Fort Wayne and South Bend. Upon my election in 2006 to the U.S. House of Representatives, I invited Hodge to join my team as district director. In his role, he helped establish three congressional offices and hired a highly dedicated team of nine staff members to help serve the more than 700,000 Hoosiers that I represented for three terms in Congress.…”