Sherrod Brown: “I rise today to honor my longtime chief of staff, my campaign manager in 2012, and a proud daughter of the Midwest…”

“I rise today to honor my longtime chief of staff, my campaign manager in 2012, and a proud daughter of the Midwest, Sarah Benzing. Sarah grew up in Neola, IA, a town of about 800 people. There were just 36 people in her rural high school in the Tri-Center Community School District. Sarah was raised by her parents Nick and Diana Benzing, in a family of farmers, truck drivers, and union members: AFSCME, IAM, NEA, UAW. And Sarah has brought those working-class values to everything she has done throughout an accomplished career serving the public. It is become a bit of a cliche to say that someone never forgot where they came from. Not only has Sarah never forgotten her roots, they are woven into every decision she makes and every job she has done. She has worked all over the country, from Iowa to Massachusetts to Virginia to, of course, Ohio, which she adopted as her second home. Sarah has put working people at the center of all she does. So many of the people who have worked with her in this office have shared stories about what makes her such an effective and admired leader and mentor. She has a unique ability to quickly grasp and cut to the heart of any problem and to pull the right people together and empower them to solve it. She is not just a boss; she is truly a manager. She sees people's strengths and elevates them into the right roles to accomplish things as a team.…”