Yvette Herrell: “Today, I rise to honor a great friend of mine, a true patriot in New Mexico, Representative Dianne Hamilton, who passed…”

“Today, I rise to honor a great friend of mine, a true patriot in New Mexico, Representative Dianne Hamilton, who passed away very recently at the age of 87 after serving for 18 years in the New Mexico House. Dianne was more than a representative. She was truly my mentor, a colleague, a friend, and a person whom everyone looked up to and aspired to be. When I say ``looked up to,'' she was over 6 feet tall. She had an incredible personality; she was very quick-witted; and her gift was public service. She was a military wife, so working for our veterans was something that she held very deeply in her heart. She also had an interest in the people of the communities that she served. She opened up the first domestic violence shelter, so this will be something that lives on in her memory. Mr. Speaker, to tell you the number of stories about her would take up more than the time allotted today to share with you what an inspiration she was. What was very unique about Dianne was she was a radio host before she got into the New Mexico House of Representatives. She had a knack for making everybody feel important, whether they were a student who had shown an animal at the local fair or if she was meeting with the Governor or somebody beyond. She was worthy of every award she was ever given, which were things like the Governor's Award for Outstanding New Mexican Women. She was given the Citizen of the Year from her respective counties.…”