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Floor Speech

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Ms. KUSTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the dedicated service of Sonya Campbell and Mike LeMay, longtime owners of the Hanover True Value Hardware Store. For over 50 years, Sonya and Mike faithfully served their community with a helping hand and an easy smile. Their store has been an institution of downtown Hanover, and over the decades they helped so many to improve their homes, yards, garages, and offices. Mike and Sonya are embarking on their well-earned retirement this year, and their presence in Hanover and the Upper Valley Region will be sorely missed.

Sonya began working at the True Value store in 1976 as a teenager, at the same time I was attending Dartmouth College in Hanover. In 1991, Sonya bought the store and became the owner. She remained the owner for more than three decades, maintaining the hardware store that locals came to love and rely on with her family by her side. The strong family ties are part of what makes the store so authentic to Hanover and the Upper Valley community--it is run by people who care about their neighbors and want to help in any way they can. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of visiting Sonya and Mike's store many times, and during each visit they reminded me of the values of hard work and kindness in the community.

Sonya and Mike's dedication to their community runs deep, and there are few in Hanover and the Upper Valley who have not felt their positive impact. From serving as a long-time resource for the town's older residents--fixing flashlights, replacing keys, and helping with household repairs--to working with the local newspaper, the Valley News, to provide free copies of the paper to Hanover High School graduates so they have a record of the news on the day they graduated, Mike and Sonya are always looking for ways to help their neighbors.

I wish them well in their retirement and know that their presence in downtown Hanover will be sorely missed.

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