EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

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December 10, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E2353 

HONORING THE NATIONAL 

ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

HON. RAY LaHOOD OF ILLINOIS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. LAHOOD. Madam Speaker, during the 

last several years, I have had the honor and 

pleasure to work with the National Endowment 

for the Arts. I have been impressed with their 

energy, passion, and integrity in connection 

with their pursuit to bring arts excellence to 

America. I would like to discuss a few of the 

programs which have been so important to our 

communities and which were brought to us by 

the National Endowment for the Arts. 

I’ll start with Shakespeare in American Communities. Since its inception in 2003, the program has brought live, high quality Shakespeare performances to more than 2,000 communities in all 50 states. Sixty-five professional 

theater companies have participated in the 

largest tour of Shakespearean theater in 

American history. They have reached audiences of 1 million—focusing on high school 

students—and have distributed 55,000 sets of 

exemplary educational materials—free to any 

teacher. 

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation contest for high school students that was 

conducted in partnership with all 50 State arts 

agencies; 150,000 students were engaged in 

learning and reciting poetry and $50,000 was 

awarded annually in scholarship funds to winning students. 

The NEA Jazz Masters program has expanded exponentially under the leadership of 

Chairman Dana Gioia. Designed to honor the 

best and most innovative jazz musicians and 

advocates, the Jazz Masters award has become the nation’s highest honor in jazz. An 

NEA Jazz Masters on Tour commenced, and 

a curriculum was developed for high school 

teachers—NEA Jazz in the Schools—celebrating the story of jazz in a classroom-friendly 

format for music, civics, social studies, and 

U.S. history classes. The agency has produced a special commemorative recording of 

the music of 27 Jazz Masters, developed with 

National Public Radio a series of documentaries profiling honorees, and launched on 

public television the ‘‘Legends of Jazz’’ program—a series of conversations with Jazz 

Masters. 

Through the American Masterpieces initiative, the Endowment has given grants to organizations to bring the best of our cultural and 

artistic legacy to Americans. Through this program they have supported the disciplines of 

visual arts, dance, musical theater, presenting 

choral music, and chamber music. State arts 

councils have shared in this program by supporting their indigenous master artists and art 

forms. 

One program which we should be very 

proud of is the Big Read. Through this program—the largest project ever undertaken by 

the National Endowment for the Arts—the Endowment has given grants and educational 

materials to 533 communities to conduct community-wide reading programs centered 

around a great work of fiction chosen by the 

community. By reaching 96 percent of the 

country with Big Read events and activities, 2 

million attendees have been introduced to 

great American literature. 

Through its tireless effort, the National Endowment for the Arts has solidified its relationship with Congress and the American public. 

I would like to recognize all of the employees 

at the agency for their excellent work and 

commitment to the arts. In particular, I would 

like to commend the outstanding and tireless 

work performed by Chairman Dana Gioia and 

Senior Deputy Chairman Eileen Mason. Their 

leadership and enthusiasm and substantive 

work resulted in a renaissance era at the National Endowment for the Arts. I congratulate 

them for a job well done. 

f 

HONORING FRESNO BUSINESS 

COUNCIL 

HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise 

today to congratulate the Fresno Business 

Council upon the celebration of their 15th anniversary. A celebration dinner will be held on 

Wednesday November 12, 2008 to honor this 

milestone. 

In the early 1990s, the Greater Fresno area 

experienced a dramatic increase in crime 

rates and a severe economic downturn. As a 

result of the regional crisis, the morale of the 

entire community suffered tremendously. In response, a small group of business leaders 

formed an organization to address the critical 

issues that afflicted the region. In its beginning 

stages, the Fresno Business Council developed subject matter committees to address 

various issues such as job growth, crime and 

education. These specific committees were 

designed to obtain the research necessary to 

develop comprehensive action plans. A civic 

infrastructure was built and a network of partnerships, that crossed boundaries, was developed in support of transformational change. 

One of the first projects of the Fresno Business Council was the establishment of the 

Central Valley Business Incubator. This 

project, a partnership between California State 

University, Fresno and the Fresno Business 

Council, has created over one thousand jobs 

to date. 

In 2000 ‘‘The Economic Future of the San 

Joaquin Valley’’ was issued. This report offered the Central Valley two choices; maintain 

the status quo by continuing the low cost path 

or shift to an added value economy and increase the prosperity and quality of life for everyone in the community. Following the recommendations of the report, a group of people 

came together to develop a plan, this established the Collaborative Regional Initiative, 

CRI. CRI was a joint venture between California State University, Fresno and the Fresno 

Business Council. There were 5 initiatives that 

came out of this; insuring a state of the art 

technology infrastructure, increasing the number of knowledgeable workers, improving the 

quality of life through land use and transportation decisions, achieving high quality performance in the human services and education systems and the creation of an innovative culture. An essential element of the CRI 

was a commitment to a new contract for civic 

behavior; this contract became the ‘‘Community Values of the Fresno Region’’. In the end, 

CRI launched 26 projects that are completed, 

still in an implementation stage or have been 

absorbed by other organizations. 

Fresno City Mayor Alan Autry asked his 

economic advisors to evaluate the city budget. 

They found that if more jobs were not created 

law enforcement would eventually consume 

the entire general fund. From this evaluation, 

the Regional Job Initiative, RJI, was launched 

in 2004. The RJI set a goal of 30,000 net new 

jobs in just 5 years. Those involved with RJI 

quickly realized that they would have to have 

strong education institutions and effective 

workforce preparation organizations to achieve 

sustainable success. Together with the networks created by CRI, the Fresno Business 

Council and representatives from other organizations they developed the ‘‘Choosing our Future Report’’, a plan to address critical issues 

inside Fresno Unified School District and the 

surrounding neighborhoods. The implementation of this plan began in 2005 and those involved have pledged at least a 3 year commitment. 

The Fresno Business Council has been an 

essential organization of constant adaptation 

and with its members picking up many of the 

operation functions. It has proven to be a catalyst for transformational change, a merger of 

formerly disconnected organizations and a 

steward leader willing to take responsibility for 

helping to solve critical and systematic problems. 

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend 

and congratulate the Fresno Business Council 

on 15 years as an outstanding organization. I 

invite my colleagues to join me in wishing the 

Fresno Business Council many years of continued success. 

f 

HONORING MG RON DARDIS 

HON. BRUCE L. BRALEY OF IOWA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to recognize the Adjutant General of 

the Iowa National Guard, MG Ron Dardis, and 

to express gratitude for his many years of extraordinary service and leadership. General 

Dardis is retiring after almost 43 years of service with the Iowa National Guard. He enlisted