next to my wife is the agitent general of wisconsin, major general don dunbar. i want to thank him and the more than 10,000 strong members of the wisconsin national guard. and tonight with him are the members of the 724th engineer battalion. stand up, gentlemen. [ applause ] >> i first spoke with them more than a year ago when they were deployed in iraq. i greeted them in the cold when they returned home, and i saw many of them again this summer, as they responded to the massive damage caused by storms in northwestern, wisconsin. their dedication to their country, to the state and yes, to their communities is a prime example of what we all know as the spirit of wisconsin. we thank them and all of the other men and women in uniform who have served both past and present for their service. thank you, gentlemen. [ applause ] >> let us take a moment to honor a member of the state representative who's not here tonight. he's fighting a great battle. like so many of you, tonette and i spend our thoughts and prayers to representative grimsby and her family. and we all lo