September 20, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6531 

now, most deservedly, the national 

chair for disaster services. 

While giving on a national scale, Mr. 

Ogden maintains his regional allegiance to the Connecticut area, currently a member of the board of directors for the Red Cross’ blood services in 

the metro north region. He is passionate about maintaining a plentiful 

blood supply for Americans in critical 

need, working as a blood volunteer for 

Greenwich’s emergency blood coverage 

team. 

Over the past years, Mr. Ogden has 

been formally recognized through two 

significant lifetime achievement 

awards, including the Clara Barton 

Award and the Harriman Award for 

Distinguished Volunteer Service, which 

is the most highly regarded, national 

recognition given by the Red Cross. Appropriately, Mr. Ogden received this 

high honor on the anniversary of his 50 

years of service to the Red Cross. A 

mentor to young volunteers and passionate about inspiring citizens and 

communities to volunteer for the first 

time, he is unwaveringly committed to 

the future of the American Red Cross. 

Mr. Ogden is a role model for all who 

give back. I welcome my colleagues in 

the Senate to join me in commending 

Mr. Ross Ogden for his tremendous personal service. 

f 

125TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNITED 

WAY 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, 

today I wish to recognize United Way 

of Connecticut as they celebrate their 

125th anniversary and over a century of 

mobilizing local communities to 

achieve positive change. 

Founded in 1887 by community leaders in Denver, CO, United Way Worldwide is now the world’s largest privately supported nonprofit organization. This invaluable national network—rooted in our country’s history 

but ever-attuned to the present—brings 

together a diverse collection of community stakeholders for a common 

purpose. Schools, government agencies, 

businesses, labor groups, the faith community, and many others have combined to promote academic achievement, financial stability, and healthy 

living. Connecticut is lucky to have 15 

local United Way chapters serving 

communities all across the State. Remarkably, United Way of Connecticut 

has enhanced the quality of life for 

countless citizens. Almost everyone 

benefits from programs supported by 

United Way. Almost every community 

has critical organizations whose good 

work is supported by United Way. 

Connecticut’s United Way pioneered 

use of an informational database for 

citizens. While many States and major 

cities have developed an information 

hotline in the last few years, United 

Way of Connecticut had already created its ‘‘2–1–1’’ system in 1976. Connecticut’s system quickly gained national recognition for its efficiency and 

effectiveness, and by the middle of the 

1980s, it had become a model emulated 

by the rest of the country. In 2012 

alone, this hotline was used over 550,000 

times by constituents of all ages to 

find assistance on topics ranging from 

health and early childcare to crisis 

intervention and disaster response. 

This information is offered in a 

streamlined and user-friendly manner, 

and in this way, United Way and 

United Way of Connecticut help constituents help themselves. These excellent communication methods and this 

attention to accessibility at State and 

local levels have enabled the incredible 

influence of United Way throughout 

the Nation and world. 

Sensitive to the rise of unemployment, United Way of Connecticut has 

also developed crucial resources that 

help constituents get back to work. 

After losing a job, many are unaware of 

the Federal, State, and local resources 

at their disposal. Thankfully, local 

United Way chapters can offer support, 

such as assistance with unemployment 

compensation, job training services, 

foreclosure prevention aid, and utility 

assistance programs. Every day, these 

United Way chapters are helping Connecticut citizens get back on their feet. 

Additionally, despite challenging 

economic times and thanks to a robust 

partnership with local labor organizations, United Way has made significant 

contributions to alleviating hunger. 

Annually, on the second Saturday in 

May, the National Association of Letter Carriers and United Way of Connecticut team up with the Connecticut 

Food Bank for the Stamp Out Hunger 

Food Drive. In 2012, this invaluable initiative, which has become the world’s 

largest 1-day food drive, collected over 

70 million pounds of nonperishable food 

items. 

When a citizen is struggling to comprehend a complex health insurance 

program, searching for answers about 

their child’s development, or simply 

looking for a helping hand, they know 

that they can count on their local 

United Way. The Connecticut chapters 

have done extraordinary work in educating citizens, making accessible important community resources, and 

serving as a constant source of hope. I 

applaud the wonderful work of United 

Way in local communities over the last 

125 years and look forward to supporting and celebrating their accomplishments in the years ahead. 

f 

2011 and 2012 CONNECTICUT 

TEACHERS OF THE YEAR 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, 

today I proudly celebrate two of Connecticut’s most outstanding teachers, 

who have been recognized as Connecticut Teachers of the Year. Kristen 

Record, physics teacher at Frank Scott 

Bunnell High School in Stratford, was 

awarded in 2011, and David Bosso, social studies teacher at Berlin High 

School, was honored in 2012. 

Since 1952, the Connecticut Teacher 

of the Year program has highlighted 

educators who make significant impacts in Connecticut classrooms and 

schools. Sponsored yearly by the Connecticut State Department of Education, one teacher in each local district is nominated. These district educators of the year have the opportunity 

to exchange advice and strategies and 

partake in advisory committees, workshops, conferences, and forums, serving 

as changemakers for public education 

on a national level. A teacher from 

each State is selected yearly from this 

pool and considered for the title of National Teacher of the Year. 

I applaud Ms. Record and Mr. Bosso 

for earning this very well deserved distinction. This yearly award highlights 

the vital importance of teachers in our 

States who can show our future leaders 

how to embrace accountability, self-assessment, and motivation for years to 

come. They demonstrate that the quest 

to learn does not end at school, inspire 

exceptional teaching, and encourage 

all members of a community to become 

involved as teachers, mentors, and 

coaches. 

Kristen Record has been central to 

the Bunnell High School community 

for 12 years as a physics teacher, mentor to colleagues, and adviser on education policy. Community participation and lifelong learning are key principles of her successful teaching methodology. In addition to her daily responsibilities, Ms. Record is able to 

take a larger view of her classroom, developing updated curriculum and 

achievement assessments while ensuring that every student is learning effectively. She has worked with her 

school district and throughout the 

State to improve the physics curriculum, institute electronic grading 

methods, create digital databases, and 

develop more effective ways of evaluating teachers and forming professional standards. Additionally, she has 

volunteered as senior class adviser, 

supported fellow teachers as a TEAM 

mentor, and volunteered on the Stratford Education Association’s executive 

board. Ms. Record is regarded as a leader throughout the State in roles to include science education consultant for 

the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund 

and the Connecticut Science Center 

and high school director for the Connecticut Science Teachers’ Association, demonstrating that opportunities 

to bring about positive change as a 

teacher are vast and exciting. Last 

year, she was appointed by the Connecticut Commissioner of Education to 

the Legislative Task Force for Secondary School Reform. And, recognized 

nationally in 2009 with the Presidential 

Award for Excellence in Mathematics 

and Science Teaching, she serves as a 

model of engaged teaching around the 

country. Growing up in a family of 

teachers, Ms. Record has continued her 

legacy, sharing this wisdom and experience with our future leaders. 

David Bosso earned degrees from 

Eastern Connecticut State University 

and the University of Hartford, and has 


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S6532 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 20, 2012 

given back to the State as a social 

studies teacher at Berlin High School 

since 1998. Beloved by students, he has 

inspired proficiency in communication 

skills, analysis, and reading comprehension by comparing current 

events with historical patterns. Mr. 

Bosso has also advised student government and coached basketball. He is a 

national leader for social studies, serving on the board of directors of the 

Connecticut Council for the Social 

Studies, as cochair of the Northeast 

Regional Conference on the Social 

Studies in 2012, and a participant of 

this year’s National Council for the Social Studies’ annual national conference. He has been published in Connecticut History and is currently working towards a doctorate in education. 

When named 2011 Connecticut Teacher of the Year, Ms. Record eloquently 

described her role and the important 

job of educators around the world, recognizing that ‘‘tonight, we celebrate 

the fact that, as a teacher, you never 

truly know where your influence will 

end.’’ Mr. Bosso similarly proclaimed 

the significant, multifaceted role of 

teachers, while speaking at the Connecticut Education Association’s Representative Assembly this year, urging 

fellow teachers to ‘‘never, never, again 

use the phrase, ‘I am just a teacher.’’’ 

I invite my colleagues to join me in acknowledging Ms. Record and Mr. Bosso, 

and ask for their continued support of 

our concerned, courageous teachers. 

f 

CONGRATULATING DOUGLAS 

HUTTON 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, 

today I wish to honor Douglas Hutton, 

recipient of the 2011 Milken Educator 

Award. He is the first teacher from 

Glastonbury High School to have ever 

received this prestigious award and the 

only educator from Connecticut to be 

awarded last year by the Milken Family Foundation. 

Since 1985, the Milken Family Foundation—under the leadership of education visionary Lowell Milken and his 

family—has given thousands of Milken 

Educator Awards to top innovators of 

elementary and secondary education 

across the country. Whether teachers, 

principals, or specialists, these honorees are an exclusive group of experts 

who contribute every day to the critical debate on how we can make our 

Nation’s schools better spaces for 

learning, growth, and the sparking of 

lifelong interests. One of the Milken 

Family Foundation’s initiatives— 

through the Lowell Milken Center—is 

distinguishing ‘‘unsung heroes that 

have changed the course of history.’’ 

And so with the Milken Educator 

Award, we acknowledge our Nation’s 

dedicated educators who are not usually spotlighted but conscientiously 

work to help turn ideas, thoughts, and 

questions into interests, passions, and 

projects. 

Mr. Hutton has taught physics for 19 

years, serving 17 of them at Glastonbury High School in Glastonbury, CT. 

He illuminates abstract concepts that 

are difficult to grasp, sharing his love 

of Stephen Hawkins, science, and math 

with his students. Through practical 

demonstrations, group projects, and experiments, he shows that problem-solving is challenging but rewarding. Mr. 

Hutton has said that teaching ‘‘all 

comes down to seeing [the students’] 

eyes light up when they understand a 

new idea.’’ 

Mr. Hutton did not apply for this 

award but was selected by a panel of 

education experts who, each year, seek 

out unsung teachers who demonstrate 

potential for and proven success in the 

classroom, engage in national discourse on academia, and convey an 

‘‘engaging and inspiring presence that 

motivates and impacts students, colleagues, and the community.’’ 

The Milken Family Foundation 

makes education a shared national 

agenda, connecting educators with 

other sectors of our society. The foundation’s multifaceted and interdisciplinary approach brings business, government, and philanthropic leaders together in the quest for innovative, realistic, and well-tested teaching methodology. Through programs administered 

by the Milken Family Foundation’s 

National Institute for Excellence in 

Teaching, NIET, such as the System 

for Teacher and Student Advancement 

and the NIET Best Practices Center, 

the Milken Educator Award regards 

our Nation’s best early to mid-level 

teachers as policy figures who can contribute their practical knowledge on a 

national stage. 

The Milken Family Foundation and 

especially Douglas Hutton, now a member of the Milken community, deserve 

thanks for restoring faith in our educational system. I invite my Senate 

colleagues to join me in congratulating 

Mr. Hutton, who has contributed to the 

lives of our young people in lasting, 

significant ways. 

f 

REMEMBERING ZEV WOLFSON 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I 

rise in a tribute to Zev Wolfson, an extraordinary philanthropist and humanitarian whose great deeds are unknown 

to most people because he never sought 

to make them known. Throughout his 

remarkable career, Mr. Wolfson offered 

millions of people—of all ages all 

around the world—the opportunity to 

experience Jewish education and give 

back to their families, religion, and 

communities with dignity and pride. 

He dedicated his life to supporting and 

advocating for Jewish outreach 

projects, tirelessly devoted to the 

power and importance of faith for future generations. 

Throughout his life, Mr. Wolfson constantly aided communities wherever 

Jewish education was endangered. He 

began as an advocate for the Jewish 

nation. Walking the halls of Congress, 

he vigorously and expertly supported 

programs and institutions in Israel, 

such as schools and other educational 

centers—many helping Jewish refugees 

and their children who had escaped 

from Arab countries. Committed to 

providing assistance on a global scale, 

he focused on a particular project and, 

once it was sustainable and self-sufficient, moved to the next one. 

Mr. Wolfson donated millions of dollars to underprivileged areas of the 

United States and underserved areas of 

the world. He drew from the personal 

pain of exile to Siberia in wartime— 

where he carried his father’s body to a 

place where he could have a proper 

Jewish funeral in the freezing tundra— 

and then served as a father figure to 

millions. He helped young people, students, and families to stay connected 

with the Jewish nation, in lands 

stretching from the former Soviet 

Union and Israel to France and the 

United States. 

As deliberately and tirelessly as he 

advanced his good deeds, he consistently avoided public recognition for 

them. He gave without any expectation 

of praise or acclaim, and his anonymity was purposeful and persistent. His 

diverse and numerous initiatives— 

birthright programs in colleges around 

the country, vocational and religious 

education activities around the globe, 

and many other programs—made Mr. 

Wolfson one of his generation’s most 

influential leaders, but he remained 

virtually unknown. Now, I invite my 

colleagues to join me in according Mr. 

Wolfson this measure of recognition for 

the millions of people whose lives he 

touched and enhanced. 

f 

100TH ANNIVERSARY OF CATHOLIC 

CHARITIES 

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise 

today to recognize the 100th anniversary of Cleveland Catholic Charities 

and its mission to serve people in need 

throughout the Catholic Diocese of 

Cleveland. 

Catholic Charities was established in 

Cleveland in 1912 under the direction of 

Bishop John Farrelly during a time 

when there were few organized charities in the United States. It was 

founded in response to challenging economic conditions that existed for the 

poor and orphaned of the day. Throughout the organization’s 100-year history, 

its work, programs and family centers 

have touched the lives of many people 

throughout northeast Ohio. 

Over the years, Catholic Charities’ 

leaders, employees, supporters and volunteers have cared for their neighbors 

and provided guidance to address the 

social needs of our community. Their 

charitable mission is inspirational and 

their generous work has had great impact, helping millions of people. Their 

efforts provide meals, shelter, emergency assistance, counseling services, 

training and employment for many 

throughout the 8 northeast Ohio counties in the diocese. 

On this occasion I would like to congratulate Bishop Richard Lennon, 


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