Developer and philanthropist Tony Pomerleau arrives at Trinity Episcopal Church in Shelburne on Tuesday night to discuss his plan for the Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park. Pomerleau unveiled his proposal to become the landlord, redevelop the access roads and allow the current residents to keep their houses. / ELLIOT deBRUYN/Free Press Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., submitted this tribute to Tony Pomerleau in the Congressional Record: June 25, 2012 Mr. President, today I wish to celebrate Antonio Pomerleau of Burlington, Vt., for his remarkable generosity and for his lifetime of service to the people of Vermont. My wife Jane and I have known Tony for over 30 years, since we all worked together when I was mayor of Burlington, and he is clearly one of the remarkable people in our state. Last year, Vermont was badly hit by Tropical Storm Irene, the most damaging storm in a half century. Torrential rains, in combination with Vermont’s steep hills and narrow valleys, brought flooding on a vast scale to town after town, wiping out roads and bridges, downtowns and mobile home parks, homes, schools and businesses. Many brave and generous people, from communities across the state, helped those whose lives were uprooted to deal with their losses. The Vermont National Guard, along with the Guards of other States and private contractors, rapidly repaired and rebuilt washed-out roads and bridges. State officials and Federal officials were quick to provide relief and aid. There are federal funds available to help rebuild highways, to assist farmers as they cope with damage to their fields, to help many homeowners. But, as the governor’s ‘‘Irene Recovery Report’’ indicates, mobile home owners are in a category by themselves. Irene particularly devastated mobile home parks, many of which were built close to rivers that endured major flooding. Sixteen mobile home parks in many regions of Vermont were seriously affected by Irene. Hundreds of mobile homes were badly damaged or completely destroyed. As the ‘‘Irene Recovery Report’’ made clear, while mobile homes provide an important affordable ownership option to Vermonters, their construction, location and low resistance to water damage can create additional obstacles to recovery following a disaster. Few of the Vermonters affected had significant discretionary resources with which to secure replacement housing. Owners and residents of mobile homes faced enormous challenges. Into the breach stepped Antonio Pomerleau. Tony, who grew up on a small dairy farm in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, has never forgotten the working families of Vermont. It should be no surprise, though it is nevertheless remarkable, that in the aftermath of the flooding last year Tony would generously look out for those who live in affordable housing and cannot afford to rebuild when catastrophe strikes. Today, I want celebrate Tony for his act of enormous generosity in creating the Pomerleau Cornerstone Fund and giving it $1 million. This fund has one purpose: to provide direct funding to residents of mobile homes whose residences were destroyed by Tropical Storm Irene. The Pomerleau Cornerstone Fund will help displaced mobile residents either with full replacement of their homes, or with downpayment assistance for another home. It will provide grants up to $25,000 so that at least 40 families can move into safe and affordable housing. Throughout his entire adult life, Tony has been a model of what a good corporate citizen should be. He has been an excellent employer, and he has devoted a good part of his life and considerable skills toward public service — without remuneration. For many years he served as police commissioner of Burlington and did an outstanding job in that role. He has also been extremely generous in donating funds to a wide variety of very worthy causes. Since I was mayor of Burlington, and this is going back 31 years, Tony Pomerleau has paid for a holiday party each year for Burlington’s low-income children and their parents. He also sponsors an annual party for the Vermont National Guard. He was the major contributor of funds to the Pomerleau Alumni Center at St. Michael’s College— two of his sons and a granddaughter attended college there. He has provided scholarships to Rice High School and funded renovations to Christ the King School. Tony donated the North Avenue building that became our city’s police headquarters, and continues to contribute financial support for policemen and policewomen. And this really is just a very small part of Tony’s philanthropic work. But facts tell only part of the story of Tony Pomerleau. His generosity is matched by his energy, and even though his 94th birthday is in his rearview mirror, he has the energy of a man half his age. His mind has always been sharp, and time has not dulled it. His deep love for his wife Rita and their children is the rock on which he has built his life. His understanding of Vermont — where it has been, where it is, where it can be going — is, in my view, remarkable. Tony Pomerleau stands as one of Vermont’s outstanding citizens. Today, I celebrate his generosity—it is the habit of lifetime, and a habit we can all learn from. Bernie Sanders of Burlington is the Independent U.S. senator for Vermont.
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