Remarks by:
Chuck Edson, Esq.
Nixon Peabody LLP
202.585.8788
Washington, D.C.
Addressing CARH:
Just Moving On
Someone said I’m a legend in my own mind, and I don’t want to really
contribute to it. This is just a wonderful occasion for me. I have to tell
you, especially the newcomers, that this is not the first retirement party
that CARH has had for me. Maybe the first voluntary one.
There were plenty of folks who thought that if they gave me a retirement
party, I would go. I said, “Fine, I’ll go.” I went to Hawaii for the party.
They gave me a wonderful party six years ago. I’m still here and they are
sort of lost in the nameless past.
I’m sure everyone has nameless critics, but I think of the advice of Yogi
Bera of never answering anonymous letters. So I’m not letting them bother me
in the least.
I have to thank a lot of people here today. First, and foremost, is my
family. My good wife of going on 43 years, and I’m really flattered to have
two of my three nieces (my brother’s daughters) here. I’m just very
flattered that they all could come.
The next round of thanks is to the leadership of this organization. We
heard the letter from Herb Collins. Really, much of the credit for what has
happened goes to Herb. For getting much of the legislation through Congress, the
credit belongs to Herb; he is conscientious, dedicated, a good Republican
fund raiser. Herb did a marvelous job. He was our founder, our first
president. That’s the type of leadership we’ve had all the way up to our
immediate past president and Chairman Bob Yoder and to Betty Bridges. We’ve
been very, very lucky for having the type of leadership that was given. We’ve had
some really tremendous people in this organization.
We’ve had two women who have done marvelous jobs: Anna Moser, who was
with us for many a year, now busy with raising twins and a third son for good
measure in rural Virginia. Colleen Fisher, who is doing a marvelous,
marvelous job, and has revived this organization from the times of the
troubles. The comeback is miraculous.
Thank you to the much maligned government that we’ve worked with. I now
call them the Rural Housing Service — you can teach old dogs new tricks. I
don’t use Farmers Home. Thank you very much.
The GAO? I’ll tell you this: when the Tax Credit was on the line and when
Chairman Archer requested a study by an unbiased source (which it was, and
very thorough), the GAO did an independent and very creditable job. It was
very favorable to the Tax Credit program. That’s why the program is still
here today.
Finally, all of you, the people you work with in housing—this has been
the greatest part of it. Colleen wrote in the program that maybe in the
future I won’t want to come to industry meetings, but that’s not true. I will
miss them very much if I don’t come. I can’t say I’ll sit in on every
session and every committee meeting, but you’ll see me at the cocktail hour
and the luncheons.
Not Stopping — Moving On
So what lies ahead? I think we had a little allusion to it in the
Washington Post of June 20th, 2001. There were two famous retirements last year.
Someone whose name I didn’t recognize (what team did they play for?) and Cal
Ripken. Here’s what Cal said: “I don’t see this as an ending so much. I’m
not stopping something — I’m just moving on.”
I could not have said it better.
I will be doing much of the same. I will be editing Housing Development
Reporter; I will continue my teaching at the Georgetown University Law
Center, where I teach affordable housing law. I am Vice Chairman of a state
Historic Trust in Maryland. I am on a number of boards: I am on the Board of
Mercy Housing, and Charter Mac — I should get the bends going from one to
the other.
I am starting a speaker’s bureau through IPED, a seminar company. I hope
to be speaking at weddings, funerals, Bar Mitzvas, and the like. I haven’t
a slogan yet; one would be “Have Soapbox, Will Travel,” but the one I like best
is “Talk Is Cheap—But Not Mine.”
I think it will be a busy time ahead, plus the Civil War, baseball,
travel. Something I’m looking forward to very much.
Luminaries of 1934
Looking back, I was born in 1934 along with a lot of luminaries,
including my good friend Ray James. Born then were Sophia Loren, Brigitte
Bardot, Hank Aaron, Roger Maris. But the two most famous creations of 1934
were Donald Duck and the National Housing Act. Now when I go to my great
reward sometime in the middle of this century, I will spare Donald Duck. I
just want to take the National Housing Act with me.
Thank you very much.
Next: The Outlook