Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I was not able to be present during consideration of H.R. 1275, the Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act. I was not present for rollcall votes 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243 and 244. Had I been present, on rollcall 236 I would have voted ``yea''; on rollcall 237 I would have voted ``nay''; on rollcall 238 I would have voted ``nay''; on rollcall 239 I would have voted ``nay''; on rollcall 240 I would have voted ``nay''; on rollcall 241 I would have ``nay''; on rollcall 242 I would have voted ``nay''; on rollcall 243 I would voted ``yea'' and on rollcall 244 I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Girl Scouts of the United States of America for helping millions of young women become role models and community leaders for the past 95 years.

It was in 1912 that Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girls Scouts of the USA. Based on her lifelong desire to serve and assist others, she brought girls of all backgrounds together and helped them develop important skills to serve their communities, help the needy and make the world a better place to live. Going against the traditional norms of the time, she encouraged young women to not only prepare for a role as a homemaker, but also to learn skills to succeed as a professional woman.

Starting 95 years ago with a single troop of 18 girls, Juliette Gordon Low's mission has grown exponentially. More than 50 million girls have since experienced the benefits of Girl Scouting and research shows that Girl Scout alumnae now represent 70 percent of women serving in Congress, 64 percent of women listed in ``Who's Who in America,'' and 53 percent of women business owners.

In my District, the Girl Scouts of Downingtown will celebrate this anniversary with a day of service at Chester County's Springton Manor Farm Park. The girls and their parents will spend the day volunteering their time on everything from planting trees and gardening to cleaning the trails and building a new orienteering course.

So I ask, Madam Speaker, that my colleagues join me today in congratulating the Girl Scouts of the USA as they celebrate this historic milestone and encouraging this exemplary organization to provide another 95 years of service and assistance to the young women of this country in developing important skills to better their communities and succeed in careers of their choosing.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the coaching staff and talented members of the varsity men's cross-country team at Coatesville High School in Coatesville, PA, on their highly successful and championship 2006 season.

The 7 varsity members of the Coatesville cross-country team won the Ches-Mont League, the Steel City Invitational, and the Pennsylvania Division I championships. The team then went on to earn an invitation to the prestigious Nike Team Nationals in Portland, OR, where they outraced more than 39 other teams from around the country on their way to an undefeated season and a national title.

Led by Head Coach Keith Andrew and Assistant Coach Dave Lapp, the team has made the Coatesville Area School District and its communities very proud of their dedication, hard work and determination to win. The 7 members of the team deserving of recognition are: seniors Kyle Dawson, Owen Dawson, Tom Pannulla, Jason Leonard, and Sean Ward; junior Andrew Mahoney; and sophomore Chris Rosato. These terrific young men have brought great honor, respect and distinction to their school, communities and families and are most deserving of this body's recognition.

So I ask, Madam Speaker, that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Coatesville varsity men's cross-country team for their outstanding season. They worked extremely hard and deserve all that they have achieved.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend the Cornerstone Clubhouse in Phoenixville, PA for their ongoing ``Beyond the Label'' campaign to raise awareness of the many illnesses and challenges people with mental health disabilities face.

The Cornerstone Clubhouse is an important resource for the people struggling with mental health problems in Phoenixville and the surrounding communities of Chester County. The organization's purpose is to promote early intervention and recovery from mental illnesses by offering a support system that helps them find employment and residential living opportunities and deal with daily life issues.

Individuals with mental health disabilities join the Clubhouse and then visit the facility on a voluntary basis to raise awareness of these disabilities by passing out informational materials and writing newsletters. On any given day, up to 40 people can be found at the Clubhouse and this interaction with others helps these individuals develop the valuable social, work and life skills needed to be successful.

So, Madam Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to join me in acknowledging the dedication and hard work of the Cornerstone Clubhouse in Phoenixville and its successful ``Beyond the Label'' campaign, which has been an important tool in the community to raise awareness and shine a light on the struggles people with mental illnesses face everyday.

Mr. Speaker, I want to express my gratitude to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk) for his terrific leadership in pulling us together for this terrific suburban agenda that we have been putting forward in Congress now for the last couple of years.

We made progress in the 109th Congress, but we want to see a lot more happen here in this 110th Congress. It is through this caucus that we have where I think we are bringing vital issues to improve the quality of life for our constituents across this country to the forefront of the national debate.

In the 109th Congress, we made great progress on considering measures to benefit all Americans; and in particular, addressing the challenges facing working families in fast-growing suburban areas.

In my congressional district, which is in the suburbs and exburbs of Philadelphia, tremendous growth is leading to the dramatic loss of prime open space and farmland. This pressure has led the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, many counties, and even local municipalities to enact laws to protect farmland from development through the purchase of conservation easements.

These voluntary efforts allow farmers to stay on their land and preserve it for future generations, as well as improve the quality of life environmentally in our local communities.

To promote and encourage the efforts of municipalities and private entities that wish to participate in that effort, we have introduced H.R. 1152, which is the Open Space and Farmland Preservation Act. This bill, which is virtually

identical to H.R. 5313, which was agreed to unanimously by the House in the 109th Congress, is designed to promote the protection of the most threatened farmland and open space, land that a State, county, municipality or even a private entity, have all agreed is worthy of preservation.

To do so, the bill reserves a small portion of the current Federal Farmland Protection Program to provide matching Federal dollars for preservation efforts that are already receiving a county, State and local or private dollar in preservation effort.

The bill creates a challenge grant that encourages States and counties and local municipalities or those private entities, such as local conservancies, to work together to obtain a Federal 25 percent match.

I believe this bill will go a long way towards using existing Federal dollars to encourage more States, counties, municipalities and private groups to take action to protect their vital open space and farmland.

It is important to note that the bill is also fiscally responsible. And in that, it does not authorize any new spending; it simply reserves a portion of existing program dollars. It is my hope that if this new program is enacted, it will lead to better and more effective Federal efforts to help our local municipalities, counties and States to preserve farmland and open space.

I hope the Democrat majority here in the House truly understands the challenges facing suburban communities, and realizes that enacting the suburban agenda legislation is vital to our communities.

Again, I want to express my thanks to Mr. Kirk for his great efforts and his staff to pull together this very important Suburban Agenda Caucus again in the 110th Congress, and I am glad we are focusing more attention on issues that will benefit families in suburban areas and remain hopeful that we can build on our success from the last session and have great achievement again this session.

Absolutely. We have seen a lot of growth in southeastern Pennsylvania in the last 20 years, and it is good-paying jobs and family-sustaining jobs. As that continues to happen, people at the same time, while that is where they go to work and earn their livelihood, they also want to see the environmental quality of life also preserved, so they have in their communities not only the good-paying jobs but also the green space, the open space to preserve for their generation and beyond.

At the same time, that growth is also coming up against the rural communities, those communities that for generations and hundreds and hundreds of years have been agrarian. They were founded on agricultural activity, and now, as that growth pushes up against that, the farmers want to be able to stay and keep the family farm going for future generations.

We found in Pennsylvania that the Farmland Preservation Program is an excellent way to do two things: keep the family farm going by providing, through payment of dollars for conservation easements to the families, the ability for them to sustain themselves economically and, at the same time, sustain that environmental quality of life that is important to what makes a good community.

We have been very successful using county dollars, some local dollars, some very important State dollars, and even Federal dollars to have that effort go forward. But there still needs to be encouragement for local municipalities to participate in that process. That is what this legislation is about and why it is important for us federally to look at the issue.

Again, I thank the gentleman, because really this effort is about really allowing it to be locally based, based on two very important factors.

Number one, it is voluntary. No one forces a farmer to participate in the program. It is not like an eminent domain action where a taking of land occurs and that farmer or that landowner is paid just compensation for the fair market value of the land, with or without his approval. No farmer enters into a land preservation program or transaction without his approval, in that he volunteers for it.

It does recognize very important private property rights, that everyone is entitled to realize the economic value of his land, and so what this program tries to do is pay the economic value of that land to the farm owner who wishes to participate on a voluntary basis. So it is locally oriented, and it is oriented to those that want to participate on a voluntary basis, realizing the economic value of their land based upon the conservation easement they are giving up. That, to me, is the best way to preserve local and environmental conditions, local folks making local decisions on a voluntary basis and having the financial resources to make those good decisions.

Absolutely. We have in our local counties county preservation boards that administer the program. They obtain dollars, both locally as well as from the State, and, where appropriate, the Federal Government, and they administer that program.

This legislation that is on our agenda does not add to bureaucracy. It will not add another person at the Federal level or the State level, does not add to our county preservation board staff-wise.

So it is just additional resources on a voluntary basis that would be available to those that realize that the quality of life in a community is based not only on economics but also the environmental aspects of that community, and that is why it is an important initiative.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Uwchlan Township Police Chief Patrick Davis upon his retirement after more than 30 years of dedicated service to the people of Chester County and southeastern Pennsylvania.

Chief Davis has been one of the most prominent and important law enforcement officials in the 6th Congressional District, a trustworthy member of our public safety community and shining example of a selfless public service.

Chief Davis' broad range of experience and knowledge about the community was forged during more than three decades fighting crime in southeastern Pennsylvania. His distinguished career began in 1976 as a patrol officer with the Thornbury Township Police Department. A year later, he joined the Uwchlan Township Police Department, the start of an outstanding career that saw him rise through the ranks before eventually becoming chief of police in 1994.

As police chief in Uwchlan Township, he oversaw the actions of 26 full-time employees and helped keep our neighborhoods, streets and schools safe from crime and violence. I'm sure his son Andrew and wife Kathy are as proud of him as we are.

So I ask, Madam Speaker, that my colleagues join me in celebrating the exemplary career of Uwchlan Township Police Chief Patrick Davis. I'd like to personally thank him for his years of distinguished service to the community and congratulate him on a well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the status quo in Iraq is unacceptable, and allowing our enemies to win is unacceptable, too. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this House Democrat leadership resolution, H. Con. Res. 63, for three specific reasons:

First, the language of the resolution is essentially meaningless. Its passage will place the Congress on the side of the status quo.

I heard the Speaker say a few days ago that it is time for a ``new direction'' in Iraq. But where is this ``new direction'' in this resolution? It doesn't demand that all the troops return home. It doesn't advise the President to send more troops or even to reassign or relocate one soldier who is in the field today. It simply states, in essence, the current plan is bad. That may be good politics for some in this Chamber, but it is highly irresponsible and is certainly no way to fight a war.

If Congress wants to be a true partner in this fight, we must offer clear guidance, not mere criticism of the Commander in Chief. Unfortunately, this resolution is irresponsibly silent on what the ``new direction'' ought to be.

The second reason to oppose this resolution is that it is fundamentally vague and ambiguous. By only saying that Congress opposes the President's troop surge proposal of January 10, the resolution does not differentiate between the positive aspects of what the President called for on that date and the more controversial elements as well.

For example, I continue to have a tremendous concern over the President's plan for increasing our military force level in Baghdad to fight the sectarian violence between the Sunni and Shi'a factions of the Iraqi population. With the current lack of commitment of some Iraqi security forces and police forces to deal effectively with this violence, I am not confident of success of this surge into Baghdad. Nonetheless, I do think the strategy is correct in calling for additional American troops to go to Anbar Province to fight al Qaeda terrorists in that part of Iraq and to add more troops along the Iraq- Iranian border to interdict the flow of arms and more terrorists.

But, unfortunately, again, this resolution does not differentiate between these critical elements of the President's strategy and, therefore, on its face is weak and flawed.

The third reason to oppose this resolution is that it serves to undercut the morale and the support of our fighting men and women at the very time they are carrying out their orders. The President's decision of January 10 is now being implemented. Our troops are already carrying out this mission in the field.

I know of no instance in our Nation's history when Congress has passed a resolution disapproving a mission while that mission is in progress in the field. Can any proponent of this resolution come to the floor and cite a case where Congress has undertaken this type of action while a mission is already under way?

Any politician, it seems to me, who openly disapproves of an ongoing mission in the field only undercuts troop spirit and morale as they move forward, and that clearly lends support to the aims and the goals of our enemies. But don't accept my view on this. Listen to Gary Kurpius, the National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, who states that this resolution debate is ``a major distraction to U.S. forces because it does nothing to improve the morale or strength of their resolve.''

So while I cannot support this resolution for these reasons, I do believe there is a ``new direction'' for us, as Republicans and Democrats, to unite behind and support. H. Con. Res. 45, introduced by Congressman Frank Wolf, would declare Congress's support for the numerous recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, a distinguished group of Republicans and Democrats that have set forth a plan of action deserving of administration, congressional, and public support.

Included in the group's recommendation is the call to establish milestones of success for military training, government stability, national reconciliation, which would result in Iraqis taking control of their country and allowing our troops to withdraw; number two, to create an Iraq International Support Group to work with the Iraqi government to achieve these milestones; and, three, to focus U.S. assistance on training of Iraqi police forces and military personnel with the goal of completing the training by early 2008 so American troops can return home.

Contrary to the flawed, simplistic, and purely political resolution before us, the Wolf resolution offers clear, bipartisan, and nonpolitical direction for Congress to support and to promote in this very difficult time in our involvement in Iraq. Therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote down H. Con. Res. 63 and for the Democrat leadership in the House to immediately allow H. Con. Res. 45 to be voted in the full House. Because the status quo in Iraq is unacceptable and victory for our enemies is also unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the National Psoriasis Foundation and its fourth annual Capitol Hill Day, to be held February 26, through which the Foundation and nearly 100 advocates from across the country will seek to bring much-needed attention to an often overlooked and serious disease that affects constituents in each of our districts. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as many as 7.5 million Americans are affected by psoriasis--a chronic, inflammatory, painful, disfiguring and disabling disease for which there are limited treatments and no cure. Ten to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints. There are an average of 17,000 people living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in every congressional district. (Estimate based on 2000 Census Data/Census apportionment population with the average size of a congressional district of 646,952 and prevalence rate of 2.6 percent.) In my district, there are nearly 20,000 constituents and 320,000 Pennsylvanians state-wide affected by psoriasis.

Psoriasis is widely misunderstood, minimized and under-treated. In addition to the pain, itching and bleeding caused by psoriasis, many affected individuals also experience social discrimination and stigma. Many people also mistakenly believe psoriasis to be contagious. Psoriasis typically first strikes between the ages of 15 and 25 and lasts a lifetime. As such, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis impose significant burden on individuals and society; together they cost the Nation 56 million hours of lost work and between $2 billion and $3 billion in treatments each year.

Despite the serious adverse effects that psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis have on individuals, families and society, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are under-recognized and under-funded by our Nation's research institutions. The NIH has spent less than one dollar per person with psoriasis on average each of the last 10 years. At the historical and current rate of psoriasis funding, NIH funding is not keeping pace with research needs. I urge my colleagues to take action this year to boost funding for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, support efforts to improve and expand psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis data collection,

study and improve access to care and treatment for these diseases, and help debunk the myths associated with psoriasis.

I thank the National Psoriasis Foundation for all of its efforts and leadership over the last four decades and am grateful to the Foundation and its members for their ongoing commitment to improving quality of life for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the outstanding advocacy and leadership of my constituent, Lara Wine Lee, who has psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and who has helped to educate me and my staff about the challenges for people living with these terrible conditions. Again, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting our tens of thousands of constituents with psoriasis and the National Psoriasis Foundation. I call upon this Congress to take action to expand psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research and ensure access to care and treatment for this disease and stand ready to lead this important effort.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the organizers of The Greater Reading Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, a fantastic community event celebrating its 16th year on January 12, 2007.

This event is one part of a holiday weekend devoted to celebrating the contributions to history and the legacy of a man who was so important to our nation--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Through non- violent protest and peaceful demonstration, Dr. King taught us lessons of equality, tolerance and understanding by drawing attention to the social injustice and racial discrimination experienced by so many of our fellow Americans for far too long.

During this year's celebration, community leaders like Mr. Albert Boscov, Ms. Barbara Marshall, Captain Bill Jimenez and Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will receive the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Image Award. This award, given annually during the celebration, is bestowed on those community leaders who exemplify the spirit of Dr. King's life-mission and who strive to make our society a better place for all to live.

Fellowship, friendship and family will fill the air as my constituents from the greater Reading area join together to celebrate Dr. King and honor his memory.

So I ask, Madam Speaker, that my colleagues join me today in recognizing all the hard work and effort that is sure to make the Greater Reading 16th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration an event most benefiting of the community and of Dr. King's legacy to us all.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 3, I was unable to make it to the floor in time to vote.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Motion to Commit Offered by Mr. Dreier

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Downingtown West High School Girls Soccer Team for their recent 2-0 victory over the Moon Township High School to win their second Girls Soccer PIAA Class AAA Championship in three years. If fact, this was the same score that Downingtown beat Moon Township in 2004 to become Pennsylvania State Champions.

The Downingtown West Whippets were led by five seniors: Colleen Flanagan, Katelyn Capps, Amber Werner, Christine Thurwanger and Sarah Halpin. This group of seniors boasts three District 1 titles and one Ches-Mont League title in four years.

The Whippets played the championship game against Moon Township in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and managed to shut out the opposition with their determined and aggressive play.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring all of the players, coaches, and supporting staff of the 2006 Downingtown West Girls Soccer Team. The skill, hard work, and commitment to excellence by the entire team led to this spectacular athletic achievement. Their display of character and sportsmanship brings honor to Downingtown West High School and the entire community.

The team is comprised of: Katie Bauer, Hallie Berger, Jessicca Bourroughs, Rae Bradley, Laura Call, Katelyn Capps, Sarah Cardamone, Bridget Coleman, Christie Coper, Nicole Dankanich, Madison Davenport, Brynn Evans, Emily Fenimore, Colleen Flanagan, Laura Flanagan, Kelsea Fortino, Sarah Halpin, Brittney Hamil, Ashley Harrington, Devan Hibbs, Alyssa Johnson, Michelle LaBricciosa,

Amanda Marino, Stephaine Myers, Morgan Obendorfer, Kelly Peterson, Jenny Schleinitz, Katie Schneider, Courtney Sicinski, Jamie Tabor, Christine Thurwanger, Tori Viscuso, Amber Werner, Christie Werner, Lauren Wilson, Courtney Wylie, Head Coach Rob Smith, Assistant Coaches Kelly Cross, Wes Davis, Meredith Markle, and Mary Schanne, and Athletic Trainers Joe Iezzi and Jessica Korn.

Mr. Speaker, I would like the below article to be included in the Congressional Record. Mr. Ball is an outstanding constituent and I am honored to help him celebrate his fifty years of service to his family, community, and business. This article, ``LM Honors Joe Ball for Five Decades in a Business He Loves'', by Melissa Steven, appeared in the Main Line Times on November 9, 2006.

LM Honors Joe Ball for Five Decades in a Business He Loves

Although he has been working for a half-century as founder

and CEO of American Advertising Services, Joseph Ball said he

feels like he hasn't worked at all. ``I didn't work a day in

50 years because I loved every minute of it,'' said Ball of

Penn Valley. ``I believe in advertising, I sincerely do.''

This past August, the Lower Merion Township Board of

Commissioners recognized Ball and his American Advertising

Services with an ``Official Commendation'' plaque for the

company's 50th anniversary. Throughout five decades, Ball has

spawned numerous other businesses in the communications area,

including ACT (Advertising/Communications Times), the longest

established marketing and business-to-business monthly

journal for the Philadelphia region. And just a few weeks

ago, Ball created yet another new business, American Business

Development, which ``marries businesses,'' said Ball.

``I don't live in yesterday,'' said Ball. ``I look ahead

and live in today.'' Ball was just 26 when he launched

American Advertising Services in 1956. Working since 17 for

The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he started as a copy boy,

Ball volunteered to do just about anything his managers would

let him do to learn, including writing and editing. He left

the newspaper business because he wanted to take a chance and

start his own company.

He started American Advertising Services company with a $35

Royal typewriter on a desk in a room he shared with his 10-

year-old sister. The company grew and moved to Philadelphia,

where he rented a space in a basement on South 22nd Street

for $50 a month. Two more relocations later, Ball settled for

the next 40 years at Second and Chestnut streets in Old City,

Philadelphia. Two years ago, he moved the business to a new

home in Bala Cynwyd.

Ball and his wife of 48 years, Sandy, have made Penn Valley

their home for the past 40 years. They raised their three

children there and sent all through Lower Merion School

District schools. Now, with eight grandchildren, Ball still

shows no signs of slowing down.

Melinda Williams, managing partner of the Williams Group,

an ad agency, started her communications career as an account

executive at American Advertising Services after graduating

from Syracuse University. She had trouble finding a job, she

said, because ``you come out of college with a lot of

knowledge, but yet no one would hire you because you didn't

have any experience. Joe took a chance on me and on a lot of

other people when they were young,'' said Williams. ``And you

never forget the first person who takes a chance on you.''

Williams spent a year and a half with Ball's company,

working with different companies as an account executive. She

said the experience provided an education second to none.

``It gave me a unique perch on the market. It allowed me to

figure out which areas in communications I wanted to go

into.''

Including Williams, Ball has helped launch the careers of

many other communications professionals who have walked

through the doors of his businesses. Ball gave Warren Conely

his start as an artist in the late '70s. Conely, now working

at the Philadelphia Inquirer in advertising art, started as

an artist for ACT. ``He did give me my start in the

business,'' said Conely. ``He gave you a true taste of the ad

industry.'' Ball believes so many former employees have

succeeded because they learned very essential techniques from

working with him. He teaches employees to ``persevere,

persevere, persevere'' and ``In sales, never hear the first

`no,' just give another idea.''

``You just smile your way through the day and never see a

problem,'' said Ball, ``[but] see a challenge and think `How

can I overcome it?' '' ``Any facet in the ad industry,

whether it be radio, television or print, you learned it all

from Joe because he did it all,'' said Conely. ``He got

everybody involved in every aspect of the business.''

Williams said Ball's dedication to his job and love for it

really showed every day. ``He was always the first one in and

last one out,'' she said. One key ingredient to Ball's

success, said Williams, was his knack for hiring the right

people for the job. ``He always hired nice people who were

smart, innovative, creative and who had a lot of potential.''

In the '60s, at a time when women were going on interviews

in white gloves, pumps at a reasonable height, and pearls,

Ball was basing his hiring decisions on talent, not gender.

``It was very hard for women to get positions because you

needed experience to get hired, and Joe hired me without

experience,'' said Jane Stark, who was hired by Ball in 1965

as a copywriter. Stark went on to be promoted to a public

relations position at American Advertising Services. ``Joe

was responsible for opening a lot of doors and was very open

to promoting employees within his business,'' said Stark, who

later became the general manager of NBC TV-40 in South Jersey

for 21 years. ``He gave women lots of opportunities. From

little acorns, big trees grow.''

Williams agreed that Ball gave many women opportunities to

start their careers

when there were not too many opportunities to be had.

Williams said that the amount of people who have come through

Ball's businesses, then moved on to bigger and better

things--as well as the employees who have stayed over the

years--is a testament to Ball. ``The students are doing

better today than the teacher,'' said Ball, ``and that's the

way it should be in America.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kathryn Opperman on her installation as the President of the Montgomery County Association of Realtors.

Kathryn will now lead a group of 300 local real estate agents committed to outstanding ethical and professional service to the community. The organization, formed over 85 years ago, is the local arm of both the Pennsylvania and the National Association of Realtors. Kathryn was inducted as president at a ceremony on Friday, December 1, 2006.

Kathryn is an agent with the Century 21 Alliance in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. She joined the Central Montgomery County Association of Realtors in 1986 and rose to various leadership roles before it merged with several local real estate groups to form the current association in 1998.

Kathryn has shown her commitment to the associations by serving on several committees, including the Technology, Finance, Grievance, Education and Professional Standards Committees. She was also appointed to the Board of directors in both organizations.

Kathryn currently holds the position of Vice President for the local group, and she serves as a Director and a member of the Standard Forms Committee for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors.

In addition to the dedication she shows to her organization, Kathryn, a former nurse, volunteers her energy and time to the community through numerous church, civic, and charitable organizations. She balances all of her community commitments with caring for her two daughters and husband in Norristown.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring Kathryn Opperman on her installation as the President of the Montgomery County Association of Realtors and extending best wishes for a successful tenure in leading this outstanding professional organization.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Harry P. Mirabile, Sr., who was named the Man of the Year Award at the Sicilian Businessmen of Norristown Luncheon on Monday, December 4th.

Harry was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1935 to an Italian immigrant mother and a

local Norristown businessman. The youngest of six children, Harry grew up with a strong sense of family, faith, philanthropy. Harry left school at the age of 16 to join the family beverage business. However, before leaving school, Harry met Seda Scoma, his wife, in the 7th grade at Rittenhouse Junior High School. The couple was married on November 4, 1956 and have three children, Joseph, Susan, and Harry Jr., as well as a growing number of grandchildren.

Harry's strong Catholic faith has been a guiding light throughout his life. Harry has dedicated his life to serving his church and community. He was the chairman of the Holy Saviour Church Building Committee fundraiser, chairman of the Columbus Monument Elmwood Park fundraiser, and participated in the Bishop Kenrich, Centennial Capital Committee of Holy Saviour Church, Sacred Heart Hospital and Montgomery Hospital fundraising efforts. Harry is also the chairman of the Norristown Police Athletic League fundraiser, chairman of the Invest in a Cop initiation, and a trustee for the Plymouth Township Police Department fundraiser. Additionally, Harry served for 6 years on the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors and was chairman for 2 of those years.

When not serving others, Harry enjoys golfing at area golf clubs and he continues to honor his family's Italian heritage by co-founding and participating in the Italian American Heritage Club and Camelot Club in Norristown.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring Harry P. Mirabile, Sr. on being selected the Man of the Year by the Sicilian Businessmen of Norristown and for his years of exemplary service and commitment to the Norristown Community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor West End Fire Company #3 as its members and community celebrate the Company's 100th anniversary.

The West End Fire Company #3 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania was established as a result of the disastrous Preseverance Knitting Mill fire of 1906. The community's leaders decided that they could no longer rely on outside help in time of emergency and needed to create their own company. On October 16, 1906, the West End Fire Company was formed.

This Company has transitioned from using a barn and horse-drawn fire equipment to its first official hose cart donated by the Phoenix Hose, Hook, and Ladder Company No. 1. The original members of the Company were able to pull together funds to purchase its first lot and, within 2 years, a fire house made from Chester County limestone was established on the corner of W. Bridge Street and Pennsylvania Ave. The Company continued to grow, adding an ambulance service in 1917, and finally incorporating female firefighters into service in 1985. The West End Fire Company #3 is to this day on cutting edge of safety by constantly adding new equipment, training new members, and providing Phoenixville with countless hours of community service.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in honoring the West End Fire Company #3 of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania as they celebrate its 100th anniversary and in extending best wishes and heartfelt congratulations for 100 years of exemplary community service and volunteerism in protecting the lives and property of Phoenixville area citizens.