Date: 2013-12-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. with a lot of enthusiasm. I rise to recognize and to acknowledge a renaissance man. a man with a sense of humor. who. along with his wife. Yvette. was determined to help make the lives of children around the world much better. Yes. he had a sense of humor. and he was also a musician. and he visualized a day without hunger. hoping for it to be December 31. 2013. Yank Barry has many sides to him. but enthusiastically. he takes each challengesome that he has overcome in lifeand put on the boxing gloves and simply won. I am excited that he joined in partnership with Gary U.S. Bonds and Muhammad Ali to form the Global Village Champions Foundation not just for boxing but really to take boxers and box the troubles of the world away. In the course of his work. he has served almost 1 billion meals954 millionon his way to 1 billion. He also didnt take "no" for an answer in working to release five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian in Libya a few years ago. which was not an easy task. So along with his 30year music career. jamming with Jimi Hendrix. writing jingles. and. yes. singing with the Kingsmen of "Louie. Louie" fame. we can be grateful that he and his wife. Yvette. turned to a very important challenge. the Global Village Champions Foundation. which strives to become the undisputed world leader in private humanitarian delivery of nutrition to needy persons everywhere. sustaining human life and helping to eradicate hunger from the face of the Earth. As someone who has worked with the Congressional Childrens Caucus. it excites me to note that he continues to provide support for the children that we are already supplying with meals and other necessities. He spans the Global Village Champions team to include people with diverse skills and a determination to make a difference in the world. For more than 17 years. he has joined with his friends Muhammad Ali and Gary U.S. Bonds. They havent boxed. they havent sung. but they have worked to put a light in the darkness of the lives of so many. His career has spanned many aspects. He even wrote jingles. He even was able to put forward a unique form of music. But I would say that one of his greatest challenges and greatest successes is that everywhere he goes. he takes his product that he has developed. Vitapro. and he changes the hearts and minds of those who are suffering. He started donating some of his food products to various charities and NGOs in Canada and the U.S. Soon. Yanks dear friend Muhammad. as I indicated. joined the Global Village. and they brought food. medical supplies. clothing. and educational tools to refugee camps and orphanages in areas stricken by disaster all over the world. from Africa to Bulgaria and places beyond our imagination. As well. he worked with those like Celine Dion. Michael Jordan. Buzz Aldrin. and many others. As a result of his ongoing fight against hunger. Mr. Barry has received nearly two dozen awards since 1995. including the India Humanitarian Service Award. the Bahamian Red Cross Humanitarian Award. the Cote dIvoire Humanitarian Award. the Juarez. Mexico. Hands of Love and Hope Award. And it goes on and on and on. He does not do this for the awards. He does this for the simplicity of being able to go into Bulgaria. where those fleeing from the oppression of Syria were in camps that were not ready for humankind. Because of his frustration and because of his heart. he decided to look for hotels that he could lease so he could move some of these desperate Syrian refugees that were already oppressed. already having lost loved ones. into those hotels with clean water and places for their families to be. As I chatted with him. I was moved by the story of a family of 17. He didnt think anything of moving them out of a room smaller than a classroom and giving them space in a hotel so that they could live in dignity and maybe even think of going back to a Syria that would be free from oppression and devastation. And so it is good thathis roots being in our neighboring country. Canadahe came here to the United States to make a difference. I am delighted today to recognize Mr. Yank Barry for his humanitarian service to all of the world and to be able to say to him. Well done in life. Continue to serve and save others. Mr. Speaker. I rise today to pay tribute and to recognize the humanitarian deeds of an icon in the music industry and a giant on the world scene to eradicate hunger from the face of the Earth. Yank Barry was born in Montreal. Canada in 1948. A gifted musician. Yank enjoyed 27 years in the music industry as a singer. composer. arranger and producer. His career began in 1965 as the lead singer of the Footprints. singing Never Say Die and in 1967. he became the lead singer of the touring Kingsmen. best known for Louie. Louie. He has enjoyed success in the field of advertising jingles including Kelloggs Raisin Bran. Dr. Pepper. Kodak. Red Lobster and General Motors. Barry pioneered the first quadraphonic albumnow known as surround soundalong with Robert Lifton and Ben Lanzarone at Regent Sound Studios in New York in 1970. In 1971. he recorded the rock opera "The Diary of Mr. Gray". which put him on the cover of many trade magazines and produced the Broadway show "Let My People Come" at the Imperial Theater in 1979. He has also appeared on the The Mike Douglas Show. The Merv Griffin Show. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Sally Jessy Raphael Show. And in 1975. Yank was commissioned by the White House to write and compose "Welcome Home P.O.W.s". In 1990. Yank developed Vitapro. a dehydrated soybased meatreplacement product. While traveling on business. Yank witnessed desperate living conditions that touched his heart. He started donating some of his food product to various charities and NGOs in Canada and the U.S. Soon Yanks dear friend Muhammad Ali joined Global Village Champions and they brought food. medical supplies. clothing and educational tools to refugee camps. orphanages and areas stricken by disaster all over the world. In 1995 Yank Barry founded the Global Village Champions Foundation which has been used as a vehicle through which Yank. Muhammad Ali. Evander Holyfield and numerous other World Class Champions have provided nearly a billion meals to people in need across the globe. Celine Dion. Michael Jordan. Buzz Aldrin. King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Dr. Michael Nobel are only a few of the exceptional people who have joined Yank as he strives for "A Day Without Hunger" on a global scale. As a result of his ongoing Fight Against Hunger. Mr. Yank Barry has received nearly two dozen awards since 1995 including the India Humanitarian Service Award 2008. Bahamian Red Cross Humanitarian Award. the Cote DIvoire Humanitarian Peace award and the Juarez. Mexico Hands of Love and Hope Award for his determined efforts to deliver food and bring hope to hungry people around the world. In November of 2010 Yank received the Gusi Peace Prize for Social Services. Philanthropy and International Humanitarianism in Manila. The Philippines. Yank was also named Philanthropist of the Year at the GLA 2011 Awards in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia. This award was presented by The Leaders Magazine and the American Leadership Development Association. The most recent acknowledgement of Yanks humanitarian efforts is his nomination for the 2012 & 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. These awards are a byproduct of Mr. Barry sharing his good fortune in a tangible way. Most recently. Yank Barry and the Global Village Champions Foundation along with Evander Holyfield have freed more than 50 Syrian refugees. many of them children who are now beginning new lives in Bulgaria. The families. who fled Syria. are getting a chance at a fresh start and living. Yanks goal is to provide these refugees with stable living conditions and food. Working handinhand with local agencies and NGOs. he has helped countless people in their time of need. often traveling to politically unstable areas when very few would lend a helping hand. Yanks goal is to have delivered 1 billion meals by Dec. 31. 2013.