Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the Friendship Circle of Cleveland, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing Jewish children who have special needs with a full range of social recreational and Judaic experiences; providing their parents with respite and support; and enriching, inspiring and motivating Jewish teens through sharing of themselves with others.

Led by co-executive directors, Rabbi Yossi Marozov and Mrs. Estie Marozov, the Friendship Circle offers a wide-array of programs for the children they serve. The services provided include after-school programs, volunteer opportunities, at-home assistance, and cooking classes. The Friendship Circle provides almost all of its services to special needs children by pairing them with teen volunteers.

Last fall, the Friendship Circle moved to a new 12,000 square-foot space in Pepper Pike. The new building is twice the size of their former facility in South Euclid and was retrofitted especially to accommodate the needs of special needs children.

On Thursday, June 7, 2012, the Friendship Circle will be hosting ``The Art of Friendship'' event. The celebration with recognize the 2011 2012 teen volunteers. It will feature a tribute to leading autism awareness advocates Shari and Michael Goldberg and a presentation by chalk artist and speaker Richard Hight.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring the Friendship Circle of Cleveland, a life-changing organization for thousands of area Jewish children with special needs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Ms. Beth Mooney, who is being honored as the fifth recipient of the Notre Dame College Medal.

Born and raised in Midland, Michigan, Ms. Mooney's family relocated to Texas prior to her senior year of high school. She studied history at the University of Texas where she graduated summa cum laude in 1977. Following graduation, Ms. Mooney took on jobs at First City National Bank of Houston and Republic Bank in Dallas. While working with Republic Bank, she earned an MBA from Southern Methodist University in 1983.

After more than 30 years of experience in banking, which includes serving as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for AmSouth Bancorporation, Ms. Mooney joined KeyCorp in 2006 as Vice Chair of Key Community Banking. Just a few years later, Ms. Mooney was made the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KeyCorp, becoming the first woman to head one of the 20 largest independent banks in the United States.

In addition to serving as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KeyCorp, Ms. Mooney is a dedicated member of the Greater Cleveland community. She is a trustee and treasurer of the board of the Musical Arts Association/The Cleveland Orchestra, a trustee of The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, a trustee of United Way of Greater Cleveland, a member of The Financial Services Roundtable and board chair of Neighborhood Progress, Inc.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in congratulating Ms. Beth Mooney, the recipient of the 2012 Notre Dame College Medal.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Father John Carlin, who is celebrating his 25th Anniversary as Pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish.

Father Carlin graduated from Borromeo College Seminary in 1972 and later from St. Mary Seminary in 1976. Later that year he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland. In 1987, Father Carlin was appointed Pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish at the young age of 38.

As Pastor, Father Carlin has been a loving and compassionate leader of his church. He provides guidance and hospitality for his parishioners and serves as a mentor to seminarians. He is dedicated to the spiritual and educational development of each parishioner and has helped maintain St. Charles Borromeo School during his time as Pastor. Every building of the nearly 90-year-old parish has been updated and renovated under Father Carlin's pastorate. This year marks Father Carlin's 25th anniversary as Pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring Father John Carlin, the Pastor who has shown tremendous leadership and guidance to his parish for the past quarter century.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dr. Mazen Naous, an internationally recognized professor, poet and author.

A native of Beirut, Lebanon, Dr. Naous immigrated to the United States at the age of eighteen to pursue his collegiate career. He attended The Boston Conservatory and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Composition and Classic Guitar. He continued his education at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he earned a Master of Arts in 2001 and his Ph.D. in English Literature from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2007. During his post-graduate studies, Dr. Naous was the recipient of the Kennedy Award for Outstanding Work in the Field of Poetry and a national Consortium for Faculty Diversity Fellowship.

Dr. Naous has dedicated his career to higher education and improving intercultural understanding between the United States and Arab world. Currently, Dr. Naous is an assistant professor of English and comparative literature at the College of Wooster. Previously, he taught at the Lebanese American University, City University of New York and College of Staten Island. Dr. Naous will be returning to Lebanon in the next academic year where he will be teaching at the University of Balamand.

Currently, Dr. Naous is working on his first book, The Arab American Novel and Alternative Poetics. According to Dr. Naous, the book aims to secure a space for Arab American literature in the fields of American studies and postcolonial diasporas, and assert its importance to aesthetics and artistic innovation.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognizing the renowned career of Dr. Mazen Naous.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Cleveland's West Side Market, a publicly-owned market that has been a city landmark for the past 100 years.

The Market was originally an open-air farmer's market that was established in 1840. It eventually became known as the Pearl Street Market when an enclosed building was built to house the many vendors. Today, the West Side Market is located across the street from the old Pearl Street Market. It was built in 1912, making this year its 100th anniversary.

The West Side Market features over 100 vendors who sell a variety of fresh food items, including meat, seafood, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, and pastries. Some of the vendors are third, fourth, and even fifth generation vendors whose ancestors were original occupants at the opening of the Market. The Market has retained the same selection of culturally and ethnically diverse foods that could be found in 1912 when many of the vendors were immigrants to Cleveland. For many Clevelanders, the West Side Market is a place full of memories and traditions, and is a symbol of their Cleveland heritage.

The celebration of 100th anniversary of the West Side Market will begin on June 2, 2012 with a Kick-Off event that will feature the opening of the newly renovated Market Square Park. The Kick-Off will also include performances by Happy Timers Polka, Belly Dancers, Duo Anime, Rey Cintron Latin Jazz, Csardas Dance Company and The Academy.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring The West Side Market, a historical landmark that has remained a beloved cornerstone of the Cleveland community for the past 100 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Ms. Shirley MacLaine who is being honored with the 40th American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award on June 7, 2012.

Born on April 24, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia, MacLaine grew up the daughter of Ira Owens and Kathlyn Corinne Beaty. She attended Washington-Lee High School and during the summer prior to her senior year had her first role on Broadway as a member of the chorus in a revival of Oklahoma. MacLaine had been trained in ballet before turning to acting. She returned to the stage and New York City following her high school graduation and became an understudy to Carol Haney in The Pajama Game, a role which she eventually took over. It was this role that launched MacLaine's career onto the Silver Screen.

MacLaine made her film debut in 1955's ``The Trouble with Harry,'' for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year-- Actress. Throughout her almost 60 year career, MacLaine has appeared in more than 60 films, made numerous television and Broadway appearances, produced, directed, and has authored several books. A five-time Oscar nominee, MacLaine won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1983 for her role in Terms of Endearment.

AFI's Life Achievement Award is America's highest honor for a career in film. However, in addition to honoring MacLaine's illustrious film career, the American Film Institute is also celebrating her work in television, on Broadway, as an author and as a philanthropist. Meryl Streep, who was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004, will be presenting MacLaine her award.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring one of the most accomplished and moving actresses of a generation and a close personal friend, Ms. Shirley MacLaine on the occasion of receiving AFI's 40th Life Achievement Award.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of St. Martin of Tours School, a distinguished primary Catholic school located in Maple Heights, Ohio that is closing after 49 years of serving the community.

St. Martin of Tours was founded in 1963 under the leadership of Pastor John J. Gerrity. The school originally had just three grades. One grade was added each year until each grade, from kindergarten through eighth, was represented. The first principal was Sister Mary Electa Coleman, a member of the Humility of Mary Sisters.

Students at St. Martin of Tours participate in many activities that are educationally, spiritually, and socially enriching. The 6th, 7th, and 8th graders maintain pen-pal relationships with residents of a local senior care facility. The Liturgy Team collaborates with the West Side Catholic Center. Twice a month students in grades 4 8 travel to the Center to volunteer their service. Since 1989, students have participated in the DARE program, a program that

teaches children how to avoid drugs and violence. The school also has a Peace Pole in their Memory Garden, around which students and faculty gather each Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and for special prayer services to commemorate loved ones who have passed away.

In 1997, the school won the National Blue Ribbon of Excellence Award from the United States Department of Education. Despite the outstanding education students at St. Martin of Tours have received for almost fifty years, this year will be the school's last.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring St. Martin of Tours, a school that has provided education of the highest quality for decades. It will certainly be missed by the community it served.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Tom and Beverly Jelepis, the former Mayor of Bay Village, Ohio and his wife.

Tom Jelepis was the Mayor of Bay Village from 1994 to 2000. In August of 2010, Tom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. After ten months of treatment, Tom is now cancer-free. However, the experience left his wife, Beverly, overwhelmed with the responsibilities of maintaining a home, a family, and also their real estate business. Friends and Bay Village residents were eager to help the former mayor and his family by providing them with food, lawn care services, and other day-to-day needs for which they no longer had time. The couple realized how difficult a cancer diagnosis must be for people without such support, and was deeply thankful for the generosity of their friends and neighbors during their difficult time.

Tom and Beverly have decided to establish an organization called Friends From the Start that will provide the same basic services for other cancer patients. The organization's website will include links to businesses that are willing to offer their services for free or a reduced cost to people with cancer. Friends From the Start will be run by volunteers and will also have volunteers present to personally assist the patients.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring Tom and Beverly Jelepis, a couple familiar with the hardships of cancer who are dedicated to maintaining the quality of life for their neighbors should they battle this terrible disease.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the 34th Annual Meeting of Hospice of the Western Reserve on May 24, 2012.

Since 1978, Hospice of the Western Reserve, a community-based, mission-driven not-for-profit organization, has provided comfort care and emotional support to patients and their families at the end-of- life. Its mission is ``to provide palliative end-of-life care, caregiver support and bereavement services throughout Northern Ohio.''

Hospice of the Western Reserve is committed to providing ideal patient care, regardless of age, race, color, national origin, disability or sexual orientation. It celebrates the individual worth of each life, and strives to relieve suffering, enhance comfort, promote quality of life, foster choice in end-of-life care, and support effective grieving.

Hospice of the Western Reserve affirms the dignity of life, and advocates for patient and family comfort and quality during life's final phase. The board, staff and volunteers believe that hospice patients have the right to continue life to the fullest extent possible according to their circumstances. They foster opportunities for continued growth and fulfillment.

Hospice of the Western Reserve's specialized services (including AIDS, pediatric, peri-natal, and chronic disease-specific teams) provide care and support to patients, families and caregivers wherever they call home, whether it be in their home, at an assisted living facility, in a hospital, nursing facility or group home, in a county jail or at a homeless shelter.

Hospice of the Western Reserve is not part of a chain or franchise and is not owned by anyone but the community. Its services are not administered by hospitals, insurance companies or health systems. Through exemplary partnerships with the Northern Ohio's premier healthcare systems, Hospice of the Western Reserve incorporates state- of-the-art care and best practices for its patients and their families.

Hospice of the Western Reserve's involvement with multiple community agencies, advisory councils and academic institutions keeps its staff and volunteers abreast of emerging trends and allows them to take a leadership role in addressing the ever-changing needs of our community. Hospice of the Western Reserve has received numerous awards from community, professional and non-profit organizations.

In 2010, Hospice of the Western Reserve provided care to 6,779 patients and families across Northern Ohio, including care to 1,757 patients and families at its world-class 42-bed in-patient facility, David Simpson Hospice House overlooking Lake Erie. Hospice of the Western Reserve is the longest-serving hospice and the largest non- profit hospice in the State of Ohio.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in congratulating Hospice of the Western Reserve at its 34th Annual Meeting as it celebrates its long-standing service to the people of Northern Ohio and looks forward to many more years of quality care to its patients and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize H.E. Minister Fady Abboud, Minister of Tourism for the Republic of Lebanon and to welcome him to the City of Cleveland.

Born on March 21, 1955, Minister Abboud graduated from the International School of Choueifat. In 1976, following a year of service in the military, he began studying at the University of Westminster. Minister Aboud and his wife of 26 years, Sarah-Lilianna, have two children, Faddy and Joanne.

Fady Abboud had a successful career in industry, working in the packaging, plastic engineering, general machines and metal processing, and food businesses. In 1982, he was named Chairman of General Packaging Industries. In 2002, he was elected as President of the Board of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists. Minister Abboud is also a member of the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce and the International Chamber of Commerce.

Abboud was appointed as the Minister of Tourism in November 2009. Since his appointment, Minister Abboud has turned the office's focus to sustainable tourism in order to promote the different regions of Lebanon.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in welcoming H.E. Minister Fady Abboud to the City of Cleveland.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the good work and achievements of Sean Nelson, who is leaving the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Cleveland. Sean is leaving the VA after nearly a decade of service to the Veterans of Northeast Ohio.

Sean Nelson is a 2001 graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, with a degree in Biology and a 2003 graduate of the University of Memphis with a Master of Health Administration. Mr. Nelson began his career at the VA Boston Healthcare System in 2003 as an Administrative Fellow. He transferred to the Cleveland VAMC in 2004.

He held numerous line and staff positions of increasing responsibility in Cleveland, including Chief of Quality and Information Management starting in 2005 and Chief of External Affairs and Facility Planning beginning in 2007. He later served as Assistant Director and Acting Associate Medical Center Director before his appointment as the Deputy Medical Center Director of the Cleveland VAMC in January 2011.

Sean is a graduate of the 2011 Executive Career Field Program and graduate of the 2008 Cleveland Bridge Builders flagship program. He is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

During his tenure, Sean has been part of the leadership team at the Cleveland VAMC that has overseen tremendous expansion with the opening of the Parma outpatient facility and the growth of the Wade Park facility as it was consolidated with the now-defunct Brecksville hospital. My staff and I have come to depend on Sean's eagerness to serve our nation's veterans and his ability to solve problems.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in wishing Sean Nelson much success as he takes his tremendous skills and dedication to service to the next steps in his career.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the dedication of the Croatian Cultural Garden, taking place on June 3, 2012.

The 254 acre piece of land that constitutes Rockefeller Park was donated to the City of Cleveland by John D. Rockefeller in 1896. The Cleveland Croatian Cultural Garden is a two acre piece of land within Rockefeller Park. The Cleveland Cultural Gardens were founded in 1926 to create a memorial area for the diverse ethnic groups that shape the region, and to serve as a space for reflection on peace, cooperation and understanding. The Cultural Gardens are currently a collection of 26 gardens which include African-American, American Indian, British, Chinese, Czech, Estonian, and Slovenian gardens, among others.

The mission of the Croatian Cultural Garden is to dedicate a garden that celebrates the rich cultural achievements and contributions of the Croatian people and to endow an educational legacy for future generations. Groundbreaking on the Garden took place on April 30, 2011 with the support of the Garden's benefactor, Ed Lozick.

The dedication of Phase I of the Croatian Cultural Garden will begin with a Holy Mass at St. Paul Croatian Church. Phase I includes the installation of ``The Immigrant Mother'' statue which represents Croatian mothers who emigrated to the U.S. The bronze statue was sculpted by Clevelander and Croatian-American, Joseph Turkaly. The granite base of the statue is inscribed with three Croatian symbols; the Croatian Homland Shield (Grb), the original Croatian alphabet (Glagolijica) and the pleter design. The Gardens will also have a heart shaped flower garden representing the ``Licitar Heart'' as well as three benches carved from stone from the island of Brac.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in recognition of the dedication of the Croatian Cultural Garden.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Honorable Elias Bou Saab, the Mayor of Dhour Shweir and Ain Al Sindyaneh, and welcome him to the City of Cleveland.

Born and raised in Dhour Shweir, Mayor Bou Saab earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The American College in London and his Master of Arts in International Relations from Boston University. In 1992, he established and served as the first president of the Lebanese Graduates of Britain.

Dedicated to higher education and improving relations between the United States and the Arab world, in 1995 Bou Saab moved to Dubai and founded the American University in Dubai. Today he serves as the executive vice president of the university overseeing the implementation of policies and long-term planning.

In 2010, Bou Saab was elected as the Mayor of his hometown of Dhour Shweir and Ain Al Sindyaneh. He is also an active member of the Clinton Global Initiative, co-founder of the Emirates Lebanese Friendship Association and former Member of the Board of Directors of the Young Arab Leaders.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me welcoming Mr. Elias Bou Saab to the City of Cleveland.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Mr. William Arthur Fields, Sr., who lived his life centered around family, community, and hard work.

Mr. Fields was born on May 21, 1915 in Columbus, Ohio. He was married to Estelle, for 68 years and had four children, William, Jr., Ronald, Janice and Charles. He was an avid reader, who enjoyed hunting, fishing and golf and shared his love of nature with his family on many fishing trips to Lake Erie. He was a life-long member of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

Mr. Fields started a family-owned and operated construction and masonry company, Fields Brothers Masonry. A skilled block and masonry contractor, he used his skills to improve his community whenever he was called upon. Following his first retirement, Mr. Fields became a dispatcher for the City of Columbus, Maintenance Department. In addition, he was a volunteer firefighter for Clinton Township.

I offer my condolences to his children, Janice Bosley and Charles (JoAnn) Fields; daughters-in-law, Earlene Fields and Shirley Hawkins; brothers, Charles and Carl (Jean) Fields; sister-in-law, Bettye Randle; 15 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great- grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in celebrating the long and prolific life of Mr. William Arthur Fields, Sr.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to acknowledge the gathering of supporters of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Cleveland for the second annual Cleveland Luncheon on Monday May 21, 2012. The luncheon featured remarks by Museum Director Sara Bloomfield, a Cleveland native, and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Judge Mukasey discussed the importance of the Museum's training for judges, ``Law, Justice, and the Holocaust: How the Courts Failed Germany.''

The idea of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum began in 1978. On November 1, 1978, President Jimmy Carter established the ``President's Commission on the Holocaust,'' chaired by author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. The commission was charged with, among other things, reporting back on how an appropriate museum could be created in Washington to commemorate the Holocaust which would be funded through contributions by the American people. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was completed in 1993 on 1.9 acres of land adjacent to the National Mall in Washington donated by the federal government with the $200 million in construction costs paid completely by private donations.

To quote Director Bloomfield, the ``Museum presents the Holocaust in a way that challenges people to confront human nature--the entire spectrum, from extraordinary evil that led to the mass murder of Jews to the extraordinary goodness of people who risked their lives, risked the lives of their families to save another human being, and every kind of shade of human behavior in between. And, for me, it says to people, now that you know this about ourselves as a species, what must you do with this? You must do something with this. You must be responsible for our species.''

Mr. Speaker, Director Bloomfield's perspective sums up the practical necessity of peace education, which I fully support and have advocated on this floor and in the corridors of Congress. I am pleased that there is a national grassroots movement to support the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and that the movement has convened for a second year in Cleveland. Please join me in acknowledging the importance of this movement and the support they provide to continuing the peace education conducted on a daily basis at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.