E2284 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks November 20, 2008 

HONORING ROBERT AYERS GOULD, 

SR. 

HON. JEB HENSARLING OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. HENSARLING. Madam Speaker, today I 

would like to honor Mr. Robert Ayers Gould, 

Sr. on the occasion of his retirement after 

twelve years of service on the City Council of 

Athens, Texas, where he has overseen many 

projects benefiting his community. 

After graduating from Athens High School in 

1957, Bob joined the United States Navy 

where he served aboard the USS Coral Sea. 

Following an Honorable Discharge, he returned to Athens where he opened the Gould 

Insurance Agency in 1962, which he has 

owned and operated for over forty years. 

Among his many civic activities, Bob has 

been the Director and Vice-President of the 

Athens Chamber of Commerce, Co-Founder 

of the Texas High School Basketball Hall of 

Fame, and the Charter Director for the Henderson County YMCA. He has also received 

many awards from his community including 

the Roadhand Award from the Texas Highway 

Commission and the Athens Citizen of the 

Year Award in 1984. 

In addition to faithfully serving his community, Bob is a husband to Mrs. Peggy Lorene 

Lubben Gould, and father of four children: 

Robert Jr., Joseph, Patricia, and Mary. 

I want to recognize Bob for his service and 

commitment to his community. Due to Bob’s 

leadership in the city and throughout the business community, Athens remains a strong, 

supportive, and vibrant community. 

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the 5th District of Texas, it is my pleasure to congratulate 

Mr. Robert Ayers Gould, Sr. on his retirement 

from the City Council and thank him for a job 

well done. 

f 

HONORING PHILADELPHIA’S 

PLEASE TOUCH MUSEUM 

HON. CHAKA FATTAH OF PENNSYLVANIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, an extraordinary win-win development has recently expanded and enriched the cultural scene in the 

City of Philadelphia. And it is thrilling for 

countless youngsters across our region. 

Philadelphia has always been remarkable 

for its museum experiences, from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Franklin Institute, the 

Academy of Natural Sciences, to museums 

that interpret the history and origins of our nation and liberty, museums that extol the experiences of African Americans, Jewish Americans, Polish Americans and many, many 

more. 

But there is nothing quite like the Please 

Touch Museum for hands-on, visceral (and 

subtly educational) appeal to our youngest 

and most curious citizens. Please Touch has 

been the must-stop for youngsters and youngat-heart adults since it opened in 1976 not far 

from Philadelphia’s museum-chocked Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Its name was Rule 

One. Everything was up-close and available. 

No longer did parents have to tell their kids, 

‘‘Don’t touch that!’’ Please Touch moved and 

expanded several times, but inevitably, its 

popularity outpaced every new location. 

Meanwhile stately Memorial Hall, grand icon 

and last vestige of the world-shattering 1876 

Centennial Exhibition, stood almost unused 

and slowly deteriorating in Fairmount Park, a 

few miles to the west. 

Under the leadership of President and CEO 

Nancy Kolb, the search for a new home for 

Please Touch began in earnest a decade ago. 

When a riverfront plan failed to materialize, 

the search turned to Memorial Hall. A landmark agreement among the City of Philadelphia, the Fairmount Park Commission and 

Please Touch resulted in an 80-year lease 

signed in 2005, and the project was underway. 

On October 18, 2008, the ‘‘new’’ Memorial 

Hall, fresh from an $88 million renovation, 

opened its doors as home for the dramatically 

expanded, 38,000 square foot Please Touch 

Museum. At the same time, Please Touch 

won coveted accreditation by the American 

Association of Museums, one of just 775 institutions out of the nation’s 17,500 museums to 

be currently accredited. 

Please Touch now joins the nearby Philadelphia Zoo and other attractions—as well as 

Fairmount Park itself—in the exciting Centennial District of West Philadelphia. The October 

18 official opening drew a record attendance, 

and the crowds keep on coming—to ride the 

century-old restored carousel or the monorail, 

to ‘‘drive’’ a kid-size SEPTA bus, to ‘‘shop’’ in 

a scaled down ShopRite grocery store (complete with checkout counters), to float water 

duckies, to visit Fairytale Garden and Alice’s 

wonderland adventures . . . 

And always, always to ‘‘Please Touch.’’ 

f 

TRIBUTE TO SAN BERNARDINO 

VALLEY COLLEGE TRUSTEES 

CHUCK BEEMAN AND ALLEN 

GRESHAM 

HON. JERRY LEWIS OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I 

would like today to pay special tribute to San 

Bernardino Community College District Trustees Chuck Beeman and Allen Gresham, who 

over the past several decades have overseen 

the rapid growth and maturing of the major 

community colleges in my district in California. 

A respected attorney in San Bernardino 

County, Allen Gresham was first elected as 

college trustee in 1971 and is now the thirdlongest-serving in California. Chuck Beeman, 

a retired pharmacist and owner of Beeman’s 

Pharmacy, was appointed to the board in 

1983. The two men are leaving the board this 

year after a combined 62 years of public service. 

While they have been on the board, the district’s two campuses have grown significantly—now serving more than 18,000 students with nearly 500 full- and part-time faculty members. Since Allen Gresham joined the 

board, more than 150,000 students have received degrees and certificates. The two campuses—San Bernardino Valley College and 

Crafton Hills College—have two of the most 

diverse student bodies in California. 

As the student body has grown, Mr. Gresham and Mr. Beeman have led the board of 

trustees in meeting their needs through a continuing building program that has expanded 

and significantly modernized both campuses. 

With the help of Federal Emergency Management Agency earthquake mitigation funding, 

Valley College has completely remade its central facilities, building a new library, Health and 

Human Sciences Building, administration 

building and a 37,000–square-foot Campus 

Center. A new art building with a modern gallery—named in honor of Clara and Allen 

Gresham for their devotion to art—opened last 

year. 

At Crafton Hills College, ground was recently broken for a new library and learning 

resource center, as well as a new swimming 

center. The district has also built a new central 

headquarters at the former Norton Air Force 

Base and upgraded facilities for its public-access television and radio station, KVCR— 

which provides the only broadcast local news 

for San Bernardino County. In addition, the 

college district has opened a nationally-recognized academy at the former air base to give 

firefighters hands-on training in dealing with jet 

fuel and aircraft fires. 

Madam Speaker, wary California taxpayers 

have turned back construction bond measures 

for many cities and school districts in recent 

years. But thanks in large part to the leadership of Allen Gresham and Chuck Beeman, 

San Bernardino County taxpayers gave solid 

approval to a $190 million bond in 2002 and 

a $500 million bond just this year to continue 

the expansion of these fine college campuses. 

In addition to academic excellence, the college district has won intercollegiate athletics 

championships in many sports. These accomplishments have especially delighted Chuck 

Beeman, who came within a fraction of a second of qualifying for the 1956 U.S. Olympic 

team and taught track at Valley College for 

many years. The college’s track was named in 

Mr. Beeman’s honor last year. 

Madam Speaker, Allen Gresham and Chuck 

Beeman can look back with pride as they 

come to the end of their time on the San 

Bernardino Community College District Board 

of Trustees. Please join me in saluting them 

for their decades of service to education and 

our community and wishing them well in their 

future endeavors. 

f 

EARMARK DECLARATION 

HON. KENNY C. HULSHOF OF MISSOURI

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 

Mr. HULSHOF. Madam Speaker, consistent 

with the Republican leadership’s policy on earmarks, I am requesting funding for Special 

Operations Forces Advanced Mission Planning 

Tools in fiscal year 2009, in H.R. 2638, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations 

Act, 2008, Continuing Resolution, from account 31 0603003A Aviation Advanced Technology. The entity to receive funding for this 

project is the Westar Aerospace & Defense 

Group, Inc., 4 Research Park Drive, St. 

Charles, MO 63304–5685. The funding would 

be used for the continued development of enterprise-enabled, integrated aviation tools and 

provide this ability to all Army aviation systems. I certify that neither I nor my spouse has 

any financial interest in this project. 


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