Leader McConnell Thanks Chief of Staff Sharon Soderstrom
‘Devotion to meaningful work is always good advice. And, yes, if more people practiced servant leadership and learned to laugh more, the world would be a much better place. But let’s be absolutely clear: Sharon Soderstrom is one of one. The combination of unflappable calm, unassailable integrity, unwavering conviction, and unshakeable devotion that resides in my Chief of Staff is greater than the sum of its parts.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor thanking longtime Chief of Staff, Sharon Soderstrom:
“For months now, I’ve been calling the Senate’s attention to the extraordinary people who have served me, this institution, and our nation so well – and for so long – in the Republican Leader’s office.
“Today, I’ve reached the end of the list. My one remaining task is to prepare our colleagues for a Senate without Sharon Soderstrom.
“To tell the story of my Chief of Staff, you might start in 2010, when she assumed that title… Or in 2007, when she joined my team… Or perhaps in 1999, when she set up in the Republican Leader’s suite for the first time…
“But if you want to make sense of the person I’ve been so fortunate to have at my right hand… The friend and counselor I’ve trusted so deeply for so long… It’s worth starting at the beginning, with the people who made Sharon Soderstrom who she is.
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“Sharon grew up in Stony Brook, New York, on the campus of the Christian school where her father was a teacher and headmaster.
“In the house on campus where Karl and Jean Soderstrom raised Sharon, along with her brother, Mark, and her sister, Cheryl, faith and learning were unshakeable cornerstones. Quite literally, the windows of Sharon’s bedroom looked out on one side to the chapel and on the other to the classrooms.
“When you hear about Sharon’s upbringing for the first time, everything you know about her starts to make even more sense.
“My senior-most advisor is a woman of integrity and a teacher who leads by example. And rather than reinvent the wheel, I think the best way to sum up her distinguished service is through some of the lessons that her favorite teacher – her dad – taught in the same way.
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“Lesson number 1. Do meaningful work for a long time among peers… who become lifelong friends.
“A long time ago – I won’t tell quite how long – Sharon began her meaningful work here in the Senate. As a junior legislative aide to a freshman Senator, the prospect of devoting her life to this institution might not yet have crossed her mind.
“But the Senate was beginning to reel her in and work its will, all the same.
“Sharon likely wouldn’t have allowed herself to imagine that someday, the Senate’s sharpest minds would bring their weightiest questions to her…
“Or that eventually, an entire institution would come to lean on her voluminous legislative knowledge, her plumb-and-true political analysis, and her wise personal counsel.
“And if she had, her deep humility wouldn’t have let it show.
“Instead, perhaps the sharpest and most singularly capable staff leader the Senate has ever seen chose to invest her time and talents in building teams…
“In mentoring colleagues…
“And in making a series of the highest-profile principals look a lot smarter than we’ve deserved.
“She’s spent her time in public service notching accomplishments of the greatest consequence on the most visible stage… All while nimbly deflecting the praise.
“But what Sharon hasn’t been able to dodge is the admiration of legions of colleagues, past and present, who count standing in the trenches with her among the greatest honors of their careers.
“It is no mystery why Sharon’s calendar fills so quickly with invitations to celebrate weddings and birthdays… And it is no surprise how readily she clears her schedule to be with friends and colleagues in moments of grief.
“Our friend – our chief – has done meaningful work for its own sake. But she’s got the admirers to prove it.
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“I’ll turn now to the second lesson from Mr. Soderstrom: Decide to live as a servant. And take every moment as an opportunity to practice.
“Public service – it’s there in the name. And yet, the brand of gracious and selfless leadership that has become Sharon’s calling card… And the thoughtful courtesy which comes naturally to her… These are exceedingly rare.
“I was reminded recently of an occasion – years ago, but about this time in December – when one of the junior-most members of our front office team brought a familiar concern to Sharon.
“The cheapest flight she could find to get home for the holidays was non-refundable, and it was looking more and more like the Senate might have to spend Christmas at work.
“What should she do?
“Sharon didn’t hesitate.
“She told this young lady to keep her flight, to get home safely, and that the team would make do.
“In fact, the team did make do… and Sharon was the first to volunteer to cover a shift at the front desk.
“I’m certain that no one who knows her would be surprised to hear this. Certainly not any of us who have watched Sharon summon the strength – even when her enormous professional responsibilities weighed heaviest – to be a loyal sister… a loving aunt to her nephew, Karl… And a devoted caretaker to both her parents in their final years.
“May the record reflect that the Senate’s most influential staff leader chooses every day to live as a servant.
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“The third lesson is to laugh often. And, as I’m sure Sharon’s dad would add, not just when there’s cause to be joyful.
“That means laughing even when you don’t get the reference, as Sharon does good-naturedly when her colleagues use sports analogies around the office.
“Of course, it helps that almost invariably, such references are meant as compliments.
“Like when they compare her legislative and procedural chops to Willie Mays’ dual threat of speed and power… Or when a wise former colleague likened staffing the Republican Leader’s office around Sharon to building a starting lineup around a franchise player.
“But in a job as strenuous and demanding as Sharon’s, laughing often means finding levity in even the most confounding circumstances.
“For example, the time she and a colleague were leaving the White House after a fruitless negotiation in the middle of a government shutdown.
“As I understand it, after walking out the wrong exit, they heard a guard with a machine gun yelling ‘Stop!’ Without missing a beat, my top advisor turned to her colleague and remarked, ‘If we just keep walking, this can all be over.’
“Fortunately for me, and for the entire country, even in the bleakest of stalemates, Sharon was just joking.
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“Heeding these lessons isn’t some simple, surefire formula for producing a prolific public servant in the mold of Sharon.
“Devotion to meaningful work is always good advice. And, yes, if more people practiced servant leadership and learned to laugh more, the world would be a much better place.
“But let’s be absolutely clear: Sharon Soderstrom is one of one.
“The combination of unflappable calm, unassailable integrity, unwavering conviction, and unshakeable devotion that resides in my Chief of Staff is greater than the sum of its parts.
“One of Sharon’s former colleagues on my staff once described her office as an emergency room, where colleagues would wheel in stretchers heaped with big, thorny problems… And a head doctor – with nerves of absolute steel – would begin to set things right.
“Invariably, Sharon’s steady demeanor inspired confidence. Her resolve bolstered morale. And, from the most niche institutional matters to the heaviest questions of national policy, her utter and complete competence carried the day.
“I’ll admit I wasn’t the first member of this body to recognize Sharon’s talents – not even the first Republican Leader. But claiming dibs on Sharon – and managing to keep her for so long – has been among my proudest accomplishments.
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“Come January, the Senate will convene again. The 119th Congress will bring us a new slate of weighty business, new moments of minor crisis, and new opportunities to better serve the nation we all love.
“But in the most trying moments – and the most triumphant ones – a great many of us will feel like something is missing.
“We will miss Sharon – the 101st Senator – on the case, and at our sides.
“Sharon, you have served the Senate with honor. You are the greatest at what you do.
“You’ve modeled the lessons of the ones you look up to most, and you’ve earned countless friends who look up to you.
“The proudest triumphs of my time in this office have been your doing. And I’m forever in your debt.”
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