E1554 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks September 19, 2012 

International Public Charter School. She also 

established the Council of Latino Organizations here, and together with others, helped 

establish the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs. 

Sonia built Carlos Rosario from a small nonprofit teaching English to Latinos, into today’s 

groundbreaking, comprehensive learning center offering support services, from English as 

a second language to citizenship and career 

services, to 2,500 residents. Her efforts are 

now spreading to a new site to be dedicated 

as the Sonia Gutierrez Campus. For her visionary leadership Mrs. Gutierrez earned the 

Ana G. Mendez Excellence in Education 

award and induction into the Washington 

Women’s Hall of Fame, among many other 

awards for giving thousands of students an 

opportunity to change their lives. 

I now ask the House to recognize Sonia 

Gutierrez for 40 years of tireless and selfless 

passion as an educator, organizer and advocate. 

f 

A TRIBUTE TO LAURA TIBBS 

HON. TOM LATHAM OF IOWA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

recognize and congratulate Laura Tibbs of 

Alden, Iowa for being awarded the Girl Scout 

Gold Award. 

The Gold Award is the highest award that a 

high school-aged Girl Scout can earn. This is 

a prestigious honor as fewer than 6 percent of 

eligible Girl Scouts attain the Gold Award in a 

given year. 

To earn a Gold Award, a Girl Scout must 

complete a minimum of 80 hours towards a 

community project that is both memorable and 

lasting. For her project, Laura brought attention to the issue of school supplies that are 

wastefully discarded despite widespread need. 

The work ethic Laura has shown to earn her 

Gold Award speaks volumes about her commitment to serving a cause greater than herself and assisting her community. 

Mr. Speaker, the example set by this young 

woman and her supportive family demonstrates the rewards of hard work, dedication 

and perseverance. I am honored to represent 

Laura and her family in the United States Congress. I know that all of my colleagues in the 

House will join me in congratulating her on obtaining the Gold Award, and I wish her continued success in her future education and career. 

f 

HONORING ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE 

CENTENNIAL 

HON. CHELLIE PINGREE OF MAINE

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Ms. PINGREE of Maine. Mr. Speaker, I 

would like to honor a college in my District 

that is celebrating 100 years of teaching students and instilling in them incredible ethics 

about service to others. 

St. Joseph’s College was founded in 1912 

by the Portland Regional Community of the 

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, with classes 

taking place in the Motherhouse in Portland, 

Maine. 

Much has changed in the last hundred 

years. Today, over a thousand students attend 

the college. Many live at a beautiful campus 

overlooking Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine, 

while many others take classes online—something that would probably be difficult for the 

Sisters to imagine in 1912. 

While the college has successfully seized 

opportunities to grow and adapt with changing 

times, its core values are completely intact. 

Service to others remains a defining characteristic of its culture. St. Joseph’s students 

take part in an impressive number of service 

projects, including volunteering at health clinics in Guatemala, an active chapter of Habitat 

for Humanity, and Catherine’s Cupboard, a 

local food pantry run by the college and the 

Town of Standish. 

Another aspect of the school that is close to 

my heart is the college’s commitment to serving healthy, local food to its students. Bon 

Appetit, the school’s food service provider, has 

demonstrated that locally sourced products 

can work even for large institutions. Among 

their pursuits at St. Joseph’s are featuring 

meals with ingredients only from the surrounding area and helping operate a small 

farm on the campus. 

I extend to St. Joseph’s College—along with 

its staff, students and alumni—the warmest 

congratulations on its first hundred years, and 

best wishes for a hundred more. 

f 

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 

TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND 

HON. BETTY McCOLLUM OF MINNESOTA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Ms. MCCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today 

to honor the Trust for Public Land on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. 

In 1972 a group of conservation-minded 

business professionals took the message of 

the first Earth Day to heart and saw a unique 

opportunity to meet the challenge of increasing encroachment on green space and natural 

areas. Using business sector strategies, this 

group of finance experts, real estate professionals and attorneys formed a trust to pool 

their talents and knowledge to conserve and 

expand the natural environment for the health 

and enjoyment of the public. The Trust for 

Public Lands was born. 

Initially the Trust for Public Land focused 

conservation efforts on urban and suburban 

areas. As success grew, the focus expanded 

to include working in rural areas. As a result 

of this hard work and innovation more than 

4,250 park and conservation projects throughout the country have been completed, often by 

fostering public-private partnerships. 

During the past four decades, the Trust for 

Public Lands has developed expertise beyond 

the development of land trusts, to advising 

and assisting communities in the passage of 

conservation focused ballot measures, using 

GIS technology to better map and identify conservation opportunities, and combating climate 

change. The Trust for Public Land has developed a legacy of providing legal and philanthropic resources for community-driven conservation initiatives in Minnesota and across 

the country. 

The Trust for Public Land is an invaluable 

resource to Minnesota and communities in my 

congressional district through its unique approach to conservation. The work of the dedicated Trust for Public Land staff and volunteers has played a major role in protecting 

many of the spectacular parks, natural spaces, 

and protected watersheds which make our 

state great. I am proud to commend the Trust 

for Public Land on 40 years of accomplishments and wish them much success in the 

years to come. 

Mr. Speaker, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Trust for Public Land, I am pleased 

to submit this statement for the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. 

f 

TRIBUTE HONORING CAMPUS FIRE 

SAFETY MONTH 

HON. BILL PASCRELL, JR. OF NEW JERSEY

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 

honor the Trust for Public anniversary of Campus Fire Safety Month. 

In September 2005, eleven sitting Governors issued the first proclamation recognizing the month of September as Campus 

Fire Safety Month. Ever since, public officials 

across the country have continued to champion the cause of campus fire safety. 

Since 2005, over 200 proclamations in 

honor of Campus Fire Safety Month have 

been issued by Governors, Legislators, and 

public officials. I am proud to add my voice in 

recognition of September as Campus Fire 

Safety Month. 

I first became involved in the issue of campus fire safety following a tragic fire at Seton 

Hall University in my district, in which three 

students were killed. Since that time, we have 

made many strides, including the passage of 

the Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act, 

which will ensure that prospective students 

and their families are provided with the fire 

safety records, information and statistics of 

colleges and universities. 

However, there is still much work that must 

be done. Since 2000, 155 students have tragically died in campus-related fires. While the 

annual number of fire-related deaths has significantly dropped since 2005, nine students 

still died in possibly preventable fire-related 

deaths in 2011. 

That is why now, more than ever, we must 

do all that we can to promote fire safety instruction amongst our nation’s college campuses. 

It is my sincere hope, that college campuses in New Jersey and across the nation 

will participate in Campus Fire Safety Month 

activities throughout September. We must do 

all that we can to keep our nation’s students 

safe and informed. This is also why I introduced the Campus Fire Safety Education Act, 

to provide universities with grants they can 

use to develop or implement campus fire safety education strategies. We must do everything in our power to ensure the safety and 

security of our children when they leave for 

college. 

The job of a United States Congressman involves much that is rewarding, yet nothing 

compares to recognizing and commemorating 


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