John Boozman

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a distinguished Member of the Northwest Arkansas community, Pastor Dale Thompson. Dale Thompson is in the beginning of his 10th year of service at the First Baptist Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. At the age of 15, Dale began preaching and was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1971 after graduating from Oklahoma Baptist University. While serving his first pastorate, Dale continued his studies and received his masters of Biblical Arts from Luther Rice University. Dale has been helping people for the past 25 years as a pastor in Arkansas and Oklahoma; and since 1974, he has ministered at churches in the third district of Arkansas. He has served as a member of the executive board of the Arkansas State Convention and is the past president of the Pastors Conference of the Arkansas Board of Trustees of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. Dale is currently serving the community as the pastor of the 6,000- member First Baptist Church in Fort Smith. Since his tenure at the church began 10 years ago, the church has grown by 2,451 members. This number is sure to continue to grow as long as Pastor Thompson remains actively involved in his community. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for allowing me the opportunity to honor Dale Thompson. He is a committed servant and deserves our praise.

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Barbara Mashburn Scholarship Fund and the Barbara Mashburn Scholarship Singers. Recently, the Barbara Mashburn Singers gave three very patriotic and festive holiday performances in the Third District of Arkansas. These singers and their foundation have traditionally been special invited guests of the White House in several previous Christmas seasons. However, the events of September 11th and the recent Executive Order closing the White House to public events this Christmas has led the foundation to use their vocal talents back home in Arkansas instead by performing at three different Northwest Arkansas locations to honor the victims of September 11th and our nation. The Barbara Mashburn Foundation, as the only vocal music scholarship program of its kind in the nation, was formed in 1993 by Dr. James and Barbara Mashburn of Fayetteville. The Foundation, funded entirely through donations, fundraising events, grants and an annual gift by the founders, the Mashburns themselves. Patrons of these events have told me of the excellent job these young people have done in promoting patriotism during this holiday season. On this day, when we remember the importance of the holidays before us and the resurgence of patriotism in this country, I would like to salute the Barbara Mashburn Singers for their efforts to promote the well-being of our nation. We don't often see individuals with foresight and personal sacrifices as the Mashburns have displayed. They continue to invest their personal time and finances to mentor a new generation of contemporary musicians, vocalists and performers. Each of the Barbara Mashburn Foundation Scholarship students gains much more than a musical scholarship, these students take part in leadership conferences; attend financial seminars and luncheons on manners; prepare and meet budgets and they become goodwill ambassadors through the promotion of their positive lifestyles and the role music can play in everyday life. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me today in honoring the great tradition of the Barbara Mashburn Scholarship Foundation and its talented singers. Their usual performance at the White House this Christmas season will certainly be missed. May they soon return to Washington, DC and the White House Christmas celebrations of future years, and may they continue to serve as role models for the young people of America.

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, December 18, 2001, I was unavoidably delayed on my return to Washington, DC because of a security breach at Charlotte Douglas Airport, where I was scheduled to transfer flights, and a security delay at Reagan National Airport. For this reason, I missed votes on the final passage of H.R. 3334, the ``Richard J. Guadagno Headquarters and Visitors Center Designation Act'' and H.R. 3054, ``A bill to award congressional gold medals on behalf of government workers who responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center and perished and on behalf of people aboard United Airlines Flight 93 who helped resist the hijackers and caused the plane to crash.'' Had I been present, I would have voted in the affirmative for both of these bills.

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a wonderful organization named Family Life. Since the tragic events of September 11, there have been numerous stories of couples seeking assistance in reconciling their differences and continuing their commitment to each other. Many of these couples have sought out the assistance of Family Life. For 25 years, Family Life, under the leadership of Dennis Rainey, has been helping struggling relationships become happy unions again. Formed as a means to provide Campus Crusade staff members premarriage seminars, community leaders and pastors soon learned of the group and encouraged them to provide their blueprint on how to build strong homes to the general public. Since then, more than 1 million people have attended Family Life conferences and even more have used their materials. At the heart of Family Life is a lay volunteer network of more than 10,000 couples. Many are helping Family Life reach couples as city ministers or by leading study groups. With their help, Family Life has blossomed into a very effective support network for families, one home at a time. In honor of their hard work and dedication, Governor Huckabee proclaimed this week will be Family Life Week in Arkansas. Mr. Speaker, I stand with my governor in recognizing the importance of the family unit and the service that Family Life has provided to preserve this cornerstone of society.

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Bentonville High School Tigers on winning the 2001 Arkansas 5A football championship. The Tigers recently defeated El Dorado 23 to 16 to claim this honor after compiling a 12 to 1 record on the season and defeating two conference champions, including top-ranked Cabot High School en route to the State title. Under the mentoring of head coach Gary Wear, the Tigers set a variety of school records and had a number of players named all-state and all- conference. The Tigers' performance surprised many, including some folks in Bentonville itself, but it certainly did not surprise Coach Wear. He had his players in a winning mind-set from the start of the year and then worked hard to ensure that they maintained a positive attitude and work ethic that prepared them for the championship game last Saturday. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to see how this team's winning effort has brought the community of Bentonville together. I am very proud of these student athletes, their coaches, parents and supporters who worked so hard to achieve this goal.

Mr. BOOZMAN

Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here. I wish to thank the Members for their courtesy and warm welcome. I wish to take a moment to acknowledge my family, my wife, Cathy, of 29 years; my daughters Shannon, Kristen, and Lauren; and my mother, Marie Boozman; and my mother-in-law, Betty Marley. And then also all of the wonderful family and friends that have accompanied me to show support for me today. I am also fortunate to be joined by two former Members of this illustrious body, Mr. John Paul Hammerschmidt and the senior Senator from Arkansas, Senator Tim Hutchinson. For 26 years, Congressman Hammerschmidt served the Third District of Arkansas and set a standard of excellence and dedication that the people of the third district have come to expect from all that have succeeded him. I share Congressman Hammerschmidt's immense respect for this institution and for the good people that I have been elected to serve. Senator Hutchinson continued the rich tradition of tireless service to the third district and is doing a wonderful job representing Arkansas in the United States Senate. I look forward to working with him and the rest of the delegation on behalf of our home State. I also would like to take a moment to thank former Congressman Asa Hutchinson, who recently departed Congress to head the Drug Enforcement Administration. President Bush recognized Asa's talent and selected him to lead the Nation's efforts to eradicate illegal drug use. It is by no means an easy job, but if anyone is up to the task it is Asa Hutchinson. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to follow in the footsteps of these fine public servants. I am committed to keeping alive the tradition of service and conservative values that the people of the third district have come to expect from their representative in Congress. I look forward to my service in this body and again express my deep appreciation for the welcome I have received. Thank you very much.