June 18, 2002 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1087 Mr. Speaker, the importance of Kazakh oil And just as importantly, the golf-related ex- Frank’s enthusiasm for starting young peo- fields to the U.S. cannot blind us to President ercises are paired with The First Tee Life ple off on the right path led him to become the Nazarbayev’s ongoing assault against the lib- Skills program, through which young people first President/Manager of the Essexville- erties of the men and women of Kazakhstan. learn the importance of maintaining a positive Hampton Little League. He also was the origi- I call upon President Nazarbayev to live up to attitude, considering the consequences of their nal President of the Garber Athletic Associa- his stated commitments to human rights and decisions, setting and achieving objectives, tion. His eagerness for improving his commu- an independent media. And I call on this Ad- holding themselves to high standards, and ap- nity also prompted Frank to serve on the City ministration to press for a resumption of a free plying to their everyday lives values such as Commission and the City Planning Commis- press and tolerant government in Kazakhstan. responsibility, honesty, integrity, respect, con- sion in the 1960s. f fidence and sportsmanship. Naturally, the magnitude and longevity of One student in particular, Amber Davis, has Frank’s community service required the en- PERSONAL EXPLANATION been involved with The First Tee of Atlanta couragement and support of his family. Gloria, since April of 2000. Her dedication and enthu- Frank’s wife for 51 years, and their seven chil- HON. WILLIAM L. JENKINS siasm has helped her progress through the dren, Frank III, Thomas, Charles, David, OF TENNESSEE first three levels of The First Tee certification James, Beverly and Daniel also deserve our IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES process. She has participated at both of The gratitude for having been an integral part of First Tee Life Skills and Leadership Acad- his efforts. Tuesday, June 18, 2002 emies at Kansas State University over the Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to applaud Mr. JENKINS. Mr. Speaker, I was not past two summers, and received the Renee Frank Davenport for his years of commitment present to cast my votes on rollcall votes 230, Powell Award for Female Leadership during to young people. He has served our commu- 231, and 232 on June 17, 2002. Had I been the inaugural academy. She currently spends nity well. I ask my colleagues to join me in ex- present, I would have voted ‘‘aye’’ on rollcalls her spare time volunteering as a mentor for 13 pressing thanks to Frank for his many years of 230, 231, and 232. of the young female participants in The First service and in wishing him the best in all fu- f Tee program. An accomplished golfer, she ture endeavors. has competed in several local, regional, state f THE FIRST TEE RESOLUTION and national tournaments and was the only TRIBUTE TO RABBI IRWIN GRONER freshman to make the golf team at Woodward HON. JOHN A. BOEHNER Academy in Atlanta. She credits The First Tee OF OHIO program with helping her to develop her HON. SANDER M. LEVIN IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES strong leadership skills. OF MICHIGAN IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Tuesday, June 18, 2002 Again, I am pleased to bring attention to The First Tee and am grateful for its work in Tuesday, June 18, 2002 Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, today I am in- our Nation’s communities. I ask for my col- Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, June troducing a resolution recognizing the efforts leagues support and urge them to join me as 20 there will be a celebration of the 70th birth- of The First Tee, a youth character building or- a cosponsor of this resolution. day of Rabbi Irwin Groner and the 40th anni- ganization with programs located throughout f versary of his service to Congregation the country that provides young people of all Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan. backgrounds an opportunity to develop, FRANK H. DAVENPORT: A LIFE- Shaarey Zedek has a long and distin- through both the game of golf and character LONG ADVOCATE FOR PUBLIC guished history in the Detroit metropolitan education, values and character traits that will EDUCATION area. It has served as a spiritual home for positively impact their lives and experiences in tens of thousands of families, including my school. HON. JAMES A. BARCIA own beginning with my beloved grandparents The First Tee programs are community- OF MICHIGAN and so many others after their arrival from Eu- based and are implemented through a partner- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES rope and continuing with our parents of ship of parents, civic and corporate leaders, Tuesday, June 18, 2002 blessed memory and their generation. state and local governments, youth-serving Rabbi Groner came to the leadership of agencies, schools, and the golfing community. Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to Shaarey Zedek after the tragic death of Rabbi This week, President and Mrs. Bush are honor Frank H. Davenport as he prepares to Morris Adler. He continued, indeed deepened, hosting a conference at the White House on close the chapter on his 24 years of service the tradition of meeting the needs of individual the importance of character education to our as a member of the Essexville-Hampton Pub- spirituality and serving both the Jewish com- Nation’s youth. This resolution reflects the lic Schools Board of Education. Frank’s devo- munity and the broader community of metro- House’s continuing commitment to ensuring tion to children and his dedication to improving politan Detroit. that positive values are instilled in all children the quality of education in Essexville will serve During his 40 year tenure, Rabbi Groner at a young age, and recognizes one commu- for many years as a model for all who choose has responded to the needs of all whether in nity-based program that is making a real dif- to volunteer their time and talents to their times of joy or moments of bereavement, ference for disadvantaged children across the community. whether encouraging the young in search of country. Frank’s passion for education began in 1954 knowledge, new families seeking guidance Many children throughout the United States as a civics teacher at Essexville Schools, and support for their aspirations, or older per- face difficult circumstances in their lives. Bro- where stayed for 10 years before heading to sons. His sermons over the years have been ken homes, poverty, drugs, alcohol, and vio- the Bangor School District to work with Spe- marked by their insightfulness, wisdom, and lence are everyday factors that many of to- cial Education students. After eight years, wit, delivered with the brilliance of his unique day’s youth continually face. A structured ac- Frank again was ready for a new challenge, oratory. As said by his colleagues, he is ‘‘a tivity, the enjoyment of sport, and the teaching spending the next 13 years at the Bay Arenac brilliant orator and original thinker.’’ of positive values and character traits can be Skill Center, now known as the Career Center, Even more significant still has been Rabbi a tremendous experience and welcome respite from which he retired in 1985 as Curriculum Irwin Groner’s endeavors one on one. For in the lives of these young people. Coordinator. His work earned him a Lifetime thousands, he filled gaps when there was a The First Tee, an innovative model of pub- Achievement Award from the Vocational In- deep vacuum and provided strength at times lic-private partnership, is working to make the dustrial Clubs of America. of weakness. game of golf more affordable and accessible Frank was elected to the Essexville-Hamp- He has reached out to the broader commu- to young people throughout the Nation by ton Board of Education for the first time in nity on national issues, on state issues, serv- opening up golf courses and providing instruc- 1967, where he served until 1971. He returned ing as the Chairman of the Michigan Judicial tion for free and reduced rates to children of in 1982 and has been a board member ever Tenure Commission, and on metropolitan De- all socioeconomic backgrounds. By the year since, including terms as Board President dur- troit issues, having been active in programs of 2005, The First Tee will serve more than ing the 2000–01 school year and as Board interfaith dialogue and honored at the annual 500,000 children in 250 programs throughout Secretary from 1996 to 2000 and again during Dove dinner, along with Detroit Cardinal Adam the United States. In my state of Ohio, there the 2001–02 school year. He also has served Maida. are currently four First Tee facilities that serve on the Bay-Arenac Intermediate School Dis- It is an honor to be able to present in the more than 1,500 hundred children. trict Board of Education since 1989. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, on behalf of so

VerDate 112000 05:21 Jun 19, 2002 Jkt 099060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 9920 E:\CR\FM\A18JN8.030 pfrm04 PsN: E18PT1 E1088 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks June 18, 2002 many of my constituents and so many others, (1997) and The Blade (1999), an honorary so that Presidents George H.W. Bush, William a heartfelt tribute to Rabbi Irwin Groner. Forty Doctor of Letters Degree from Adrian College J. Clinton and George W. Bush have all met plus seventy has the sound of biblical num- in Michigan (1999), and the Ohio Library As- with him personally and praised his work. bers; Rabbi Groner has surely lived up to, in- sociation’s recognition of her ‘‘distinguished The key to Professor Yan Xin’s success is deed exceeded, his biblical calling. and creative contributions to children’s lit- his ability to combine modern scientific proce- f erature’’ (1989). Even while living this full and dures with traditional healing and fitness meth- creative life, Millie Benson never forgot her TRIBUTE TO MILLIE BENSON ods. Yan Xin Life Science Technology utilizes fans. She answered every single letter, hon- elements of traditional Chinese culture such ored each request for an autograph, and al- as acupuncture and medicines derived from HON. MARCY KAPTUR ways had time to talk to her fans. natural products, then incorporates Western OF OHIO Everyday of Mildred Benson’s life was spent health treatments and the research of Pro- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES living to life’s absolute fullest. Her example in- fessor Yan Xin and his peers in the modern spired those around her. Her unflagging en- Tuesday, June 18, 2002 scientific community. This blend of intuitive thusiasm for her chosen profession was infec- and empirical thinking serves as an example Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in tious and her zest for life unsurpassed. Per- for all of those who are working improve the sad acknowledgment of the passing from this haps Blade publisher John R. Block summa- lives of others. life of a national heroine and true Toledo rized her best, saying ‘‘Millie Benson was one treasure. Millie Benson, author of the original of the greatest women writers and journalists Mr. Speaker, I commend Professor Yan Xin Nancy Drew series of books and lifelong ad- of the 20th century. She was gutsy and dar- both personally and on behalf of all those venturer, passed away on Tuesday, May 28, ing, a living embodiment of her Nancy Drew whose lives have been improved as a result of 2002 the age of 96 years. She had spent the heroine.’’ Our deepest condolences go now to his work. Professor Yan Xin’s career is far day at her desk at The Blade newspaper com- her daughter Peggy. Yet Mildred Benson’s from over, and we can all look forward to con- pleting her regular column. That last column, lasting legacy remains through her books and tinuing successes in his many areas of exper- published on May 29, 2002, discussed the his- the millions of lives her writing and her life tise. tory and importance of the public library sys- have influenced. tem. It is a fitting end to the storied career of In a 1973 issue of Books At Iowa describing f a woman who inspired a lifelong passion for her career, Millie Benson wrote of writing for reading, as she herself had, in generations of the ages and not just a place in time, but her TRIBUTE TO DR. BENJAMIN REED youngsters. essay ‘‘The Ghost of Ladora’’ is actually the Millie Benson was born in the town of finest tribute to her life’s passage, ‘‘So now it Ladora, Iowa to Dr. J.L. and Lillian Augustine is time for the final chapter, seemingly one HON. MARCY KAPTUR on July 10, 1905. In addition to being a vora- destined from the beginning. A fadeout be- OF OHIO cious reader, she also excelled at athletics. comes the most difficult of all, for the story is She pursued both while a student at the Uni- finished, the reader led to believe that the very IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES versity of Iowa, where she was a champion best lies directly ahead. New worlds to con- Tuesday, June 18, 2002 diver, a reporter for the local newspaper, and quer! New horizons to explore! . . . and all a published author. Her first story was pub- the pilots of fantasy suddenly take shape be- lished in 1919 in The Nicholas Magazine of Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this month fore our eyes, their waggling wings flashing brings us the retirement of Dr. Benjamin Reed, New York. It was when completing her Mas- the personal message: ‘Come fly with me.’ ter’s Degree that she began her famous book long time county coroner in Fulton County, Such challenge cannot be denied. Work for- Ohio. I am pleased to recognize Dr. Reed, series, and under a pen name wrote the first gotten, we hasten to the nearby airport where 23 books of the Nancy Drew mysteries. Paid who ended his service April 1, 2002 after a small plane awaits its all-too-willing pas- nearly four decades. little and required to sign away the rights, Mil- senger. Eagerly we take off, climbing high dred Benson remained in obscurity as the above the smog, the petty perplexities of life. A physician in the finest sense of the word books’ author until a legal battle in 1983 re- The sky is blue. The wind blows free, Here at and true public servant, Dr. Reed is known by vealed her identity. last, far above the earth, age and youth imper- everyone in Fulton County and is doctor to all In the meantime, Mildred Benson, who had ceptibly blend, and stem reality dissolves into in his hometown of Delta and to so many married Asa Wirt in 1928, kept busy with the ultimate Magnificent Dream.’’ more in Northwest Ohio. A friend and con- many other pursuits including the writing of fidante to all who knew him, his energetic atti- f several other series for children and novels, tude and dedication to his profession are un- obtaining both commercial and instrument HONORING PROFESSOR YAN XIN surpassed. rated private pilot licenses (in her sixties!), and The practice of medicine runs deep in Dr. traveling into such remote outposts as the jun- HON. MICHAEL M. HONDA Reed’s family. He followed in his grandfather’s gles of Mexico and South America and ar- OF CALIFORNIA footsteps, obtaining his medical degree from cheological sites in Central America, where IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the University of Louisville. He began his prac- she pursued her hobby exploring Mayan civili- tice in Kentucky, then moved to West Virginia zation. After Mr. Wirt’s passing, in 1950 she Tuesday, June 18, 2002 where he doctored to the people of a coal married George Benson. Mr. Benson was edi- Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mining town. There he learned to put his skills tor of the Toledo Times newspaper. Thus honor the contributions and achievements of to the test as he practiced everything from ob- began her revived career as a reporter. When Professor Yan Xin on the twelfth anniversary stetrics to cardiology to surgery. It was soon the Toledo Times ceased publication in 1959, of the professor’s introduction of the ‘‘Yan Xin after moving to Delta that he began working in she began working for The Blade. Life Science Technology’’ to the American the coroners office, to which he was elected The 1990s brought her renewed acclaim as public. Working as a physician, a professor the author of the Nancy Drew series. Although and a scientist, Professor Yan Xin has had an after seven years. In 1994, his neighbors rec- in her eighties and nineties, she was a guest integral role in major breakthroughs in experi- ognized him as Delta’s Citizen of the Year. of many national and worldwide conferences, mental research, which have led to new meth- In addition to his practice and his coroner’s publications, and televised broadcasts. In ods of preventing disease and promoting the work, Dr. Reed held offices with the Ohio 1993, she was the feature of the University of health of humankind. State Medical Association, the Fulton County Iowa’s Nancy Drew conference. Recognized Professor Yan Xin has long been recog- Medical Society, and the American Heart As- by her alma mater not only for her journalism, nized as a leader in the fight against cancer, sociation’s Northwest Ohio Chapter. As he she was also remembered as the first woman AIDS, and diseases associated with the aging ends his public life, may Dr. Reed enjoy the to receive a master’s degree in journalism process. He has been certified as a chief phy- serenity of family life and the peace which from that institution, an accomplishment she sician by the Ministry of Health in China and comes from a job well done. We wish him a achieved in 1927. She was inducted into the has conducted collaborative research with very enjoyable retirement as he spends time Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame and received her several world-renowned research institutes on his own schedule and preferred activities, alma mater’s highest alumni award. Other rec- and universities. Professor Yan Xin has been and with the family and friends dear to him. ognitions included lifetime achievement a blessing to both his colleagues and those Thank you Dr. Reed, for your exemplary serv- awards from the Ohio Newspaper Women who have benefited from his healing, so much ice to us all!

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