October 3, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2235 

A CHILD IS MISSING ALERT AND 

RECOVERY CENTER ACT 

HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam 

Speaker, thank you for your leadership in 

bringing this very important bill to the floor. I 

support this bill and urge my colleagues to do 

the same. This bill is good and it is necessary. 

The bill is sponsored by Mr. KLEIN and has 

bi-partisan support. It has 21 cosponsors, including the following Judiciary members: 

Chairman CONYERS, Chairman SCOTT, Mr. 

CHABOT, Mr. NADLER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. COHEN, 

Mr. JOHNSON, Ms. SUTTON, and Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. 

A child goes missing every 40 seconds. The 

successful recovery of missing children often 

requires a quick response. In 1997, Sherry 

Friedlander, the founder of A Child is Missing 

(ACIM), saw the need for a rapid-response 

program to persons who go missing, especially in situations that do not involve abductions. In response to this need, she established ACIM, a national non-profit organization 

that offers free assistance to law enforcement 

365 days of the year, 24 hours per day. The 

program is not limited to children, but extends 

to elderly persons (suffering from senility or 

Alzheimer’s), mentally challenged or disabled 

individuals and college students. 

When law enforcement receives a call regarding a missing person, the first-responder 

can immediately call ACIM for help. The officer provides critical information to ACIM, such 

as the person’s age and description and the 

last time/place seen. ACIM uses that information to record a message that, within minutes, 

is sent via phone to 1000s of locations within 

a radius of the last sighting of the person. 

Through their computer mapping system, 

ACIM also can identify ‘‘hot spots,’’ such as 

water or wooded areas. 

ACIM complements the Amber Alert program by providing different services. While 

Amber Alert focuses on children who are abducted, ACIM covers all ‘‘persons’’ who go 

missing, including situations where criminal intent may not be at issue. Amber Alert uses television and highway signs to broadcast information about the abducted child and the related vehicle, while ACIM uses a rapid response telephone alert system and covers 

cases where there is no vehicle involved. The 

ACIM notification system often can respond 

more quickly than the Amber Alert program. 

ACIM would use the requested money to 

operate and expand the existing ACIM office 

in Florida, to develop Regional Centers for onsite training and communication with local law 

enforcement, to maintain and expand their 

computer and phone technologies, and to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert Coordinator, and appropriate law enforcement agencies with training. 

H.R. 5464 authorizes $5 million annual 

grants for 2009 through 2014 to A Child is 

Missing Alert and Recovery Center (ACIM) to 

assist law enforcement in the rapid recovery of 

missing children and other individuals. 

I support this bill and I urge my colleagues 

to support it also. 

HONORING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF AMERICAN LEGION 

POST 88 AUXILIARY 

HON. JIM COOPER 

OF TENNESSEE

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. COOPER. Madam Speaker, I rise today 

to honor the accomplishments of my hometown American Legion Post 88 Auxiliary. 

First, the Post Auxiliary has been a great 

help to my constituents and me monitoring 

legislation that benefits veterans and their 

families. 

But Unit 88 also works directly to support 

our troops overseas. The Post Auxiliary had 

several mailings of care packages each worth 

more than $1,500 to servicemen and woman 

to let them know how proud all of Nashville is 

of them for giving their time, efforts and sometimes their lives to support our freedom. Besides the care packages, they sent over 900 

pocket flags for our service people to carry 

with them. And the troops appreciate it. Besides many e-mails and thank you letters, the 

732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron 

sent a proclamation and flag thanking the Post 

for their efforts. 

The Post Auxiliary works diligently to care 

for our veterans after they return from overseas as well. They visit veterans in the Veteran’s Hospital in Nashville and in 

Murfreesboro, TN each month to give them 

goodie bags and visit with them. And they 

held a Christmas party at each facility to let 

the veterans know how much our country 

cares for and supports them. They participated 

in ‘‘Operation Stand Down,’’ a 3-day event to 

assist homeless veterans, by serving meals 

and donating clothing. 

Funds were raised to send veterans’ children backpacks for school and we gave needy 

veterans’ children gifts and food at Christmas. 

As I’m sure everyone is familiar with, the 

American Legion sells poppies every May in 

time to honor our veterans on Memorial Day. 

This year, the Post 88 Auxiliary raised over 

$1,300 and then hosted a fashion show to 

raise an additional $2,000. 

Finally, beyond the work supporting our 

troops and veterans, the Post Auxiliary also 

serves our local community. The Post 88 Auxiliary raised funds to send 16 girls to Girls 

State where they learn about government and 

legislative processes. In December, they held 

a party for handicapped children complete with 

live music by the Timeline Band who was generous enough to donate their time. In February, the Post Auxiliary held an essay contest 

that had over 200 submissions on the theme 

‘‘America: Home of the Brave, the Land I 

Love.’’ 

And as in every year since 9/11, the Post 

Auxiliary held a September 11 Memorial Ceremony to remember all those who lost their 

lives in that terrorist attack. 

I’m proud to represent Post 88 Auxiliary. 

They are the best of Tennessee as well as the 

country. 

TRIBUTE TO HAROLD MEEK 

HON. KEVIN McCARTHY OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Friday, October 3, 2008 

Mr. MCCARTHY of California. Madam 

Speaker, I rise today to honor Harold Meek, a 

community leader and entrepreneur from Bakersfield, CA, on his retirement after over 35 

years with the Three-Way Automotive Group. 

Born in Oklahoma, Harold moved to Bakersfield in 1958 to work with his brother, Leo, in 

the automotive industry. After 17 years with 

his brother’s dealership, Harold joined ThreeWay Chevrolet, later the Three-Way Automotive Group, in 1973. With his business 

prowess and entrepreneurial skill, he become 

General Manager just 2 years later, was made 

a partner shortly thereafter, and, in 1996, was 

appointed president/dealer operator. 

Under Harold’s leadership, the Three-Way 

Automotive Group, which recently celebrated 

its 50th anniversary by opening a second 

Chevrolet dealership at the Bakersfield Auto 

Mall, has been internationally recognized and 

awarded numerous industry awards for outstanding service. For the past 7 years, ThreeWay Chevrolet has been the number one Retail Volume Chevrolet Dealer in California and 

was the number one Retail Chevrolet Dealer 

in the world in June and July of 2005. In addition, Harold has received the prestigious Time 

Magazine 2003 Quality Dealer Award and, for 

the last 8 years, the General Motors’ Jack 

Smith Dealer of the Year Award, all a recognition of his commitment to exceptional sales 

performance and superior customer service. 

Over his long career, he has also served on 

or chaired numerous State and regional automotive industry dealership associations. 

A successful entrepreneur in Bakersfield, 

Harold has also been active in the local community. Harold has served on the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic 

Chamber of Commerce, the Kern County Law 

Enforcement Foundation, and is a charter 

member of the Bakersfield Better Business 

Bureau. He also is a strong advocate for and 

has supported numerous civic and charitable 

organizations. Harold has supported and been 

involved in more than 250 civic and charitable 

organizations in the community, including numerous youth and sports programs as well as 

the American Cancer Society, the Bakersfield 

Women’s Business Conference, the Kern 

County Fair, Relay for Life, Link to Life, the 

YMCA, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. 

A dedicated Republican, Harold has been 

active in local, State, and national Republican 

politics. He has served on the steering committees of numerous gubernatorial and presidential campaigns in California, and has managed several local campaigns, including city 

council, county supervisor, and sheriff’s races. 

Harold also served as campaign chairman for 

former California State Assembly member 

from 1988 to 2000. 

Harold exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit 

and a dedication to community that has made 

this country great. I wish Harold the best in 

this new chapter of his life, and I know he 

looks forward to spending more time with his 

wife Kay; children Joi, Mark, and Vivienne; 

and grandchildren Clint, Cody, Jordan, and 

Julia. 


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