[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 23, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: March 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
VELDA MEYER
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, one of the great stories and, I think, an
unwritten story in the United States of America has to do with
volunteerism. We often talk about volunteerism, but yet it really is an
entity in itself. As we in Congress and in State legislatures all
around the country try to grapple with the problems of society today,
we try to take care of the neighborhoods, and families, and crime, and
health care, and all these things. We often overlook the fact that
there is a strong, and many times invisible, army that is out there
that is the margin between success and failure in our society.
Organizations such as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, different church
groups, neighborhood associations, hospital groups and so forth have
done so much work to continue the great legacy of America, and tonight
in that regard I want to talk about one of the best volunteers that I
know, a lady named Velda Meyer from Isle of Hope, GA, a lady I am proud
to call a neighbor and a friend, a citizen and a great American. Velda
lives around the corner from me, but her sphere of influence is not
isolated to our neighborhood by any means, but I do want to tell a
story about a couple of the things that she does.
I say to my colleagues, ``If you are up early in Isle of Hope and you
are driving down Grimble Point Road, you can see a beautiful median and
a little garden that Mrs. Meyer along with a handful of her friends
that she recruits every year; they take care of that whole median, no
taxpayer expense. They are out there. They are pruning and planting
flowers, cleaning up litter from the weekend. They are doing so much,
and there is no thank you for it. They don't even get credit most of
the time.''
Another thing that Velda Meyer did at her own initiative: For years
she was the neighborhood Halloween witch, and at her house every
Halloween she would put on a little miniature spook house, and there
were spiders, and cobwebs, and plastic rats and bales of hay. Velda
would put on some tinsel type green hair and dress as a witch, and all
the little children of Isle of Hope and many other children from
Savannah and the surrounding area would come and see her. It was a
neighborhood tradition in many respects.
Mr. Speaker, Velda Meyer has done many, many other things, and a
mutual friend, Mrs. Leila Bravo, has given me a whole list of items
that she has done, and I want to read these into the Record, Mr.
Speaker, and will do so at this time:
Velda Meyer
Velda Meyer is a very special resident of the Isle of Hope
community and the Chatham County area. She has devoted the
last 50 years to a number of volunteer organizations as well
as her community.
She began her work as a volunteer worker with the Red Cross
at the East St. Louis Chapter in surgical dressings in 1941.
She was certified as a nurse's aide at the East St. Louis
Chapter, Belleville, Illinois in 1942. Velda worked at the
East St. Louis Chapter as a nurse's aide in 1942, 1943 and
1945 for a total of 358\1/2\ hours and at the St. Louis Bi-
State Chapter, Belleville, Illinois in 1958-59.
After moving to Savannah she began her volunteer work in
September 1959 with the Red Cross. She has given a total of
10,139 hours from that date thru December 1993.
She was appointed chairperson of youth volunteers in Red
Cross in 1961 and also served as chairperson of volunteers at
Memorial Medical Center thru Red Cross 1964/65/66.
Velda has served as a volunteer at Memorial Medical Center
for 24 years. She was voted Volunteer of the Year in 1988.
In her Isle of Hope community, she has been a devoted
friend to all the residents of the island. Velda worked very
hard for the Little Historical Park on the Bluff near the
Marina.
The Parkersburg Garden Club has benefited since the early
70's from Velda's membership and dedicated service. For many
years she has been responsible for the beautification of the
plot on the road to Dutch Island. In 1981, the club honored
her with life membership. Velda has represented the
Parkersburg Garden Club in the Savannah area garden club
council on many of their projects.
Velda is a member of the Isle of Hope Community Club and
the Historical Society.
For many years, Halloween was very special to several
hundred children who visited Velda. She dressed as a witch,
stirred her smoking kettle, and made Halloween come alive
with eerie music, spidery decorations and candy. Also, for
many years Isle of Hope residents celebrating their birthdays
found colorful balloons on their mailboxes. Velda delivered
them by bicycle very early in the mornings. Visits to the
sick, food and get well wishes to the shut-ins, rides when
your car is on the blink, Velda is always there to help.
Other areas where this dear lady's life has made a
difference is: the Savannah Symphony Women's Guild and the
Republican Women's Club. She has been a member of the guild
since its inception. She has solicited items for the TV
auctions, got up tables for the fashion shows, helped raise
money for the annual fund event, and helped promote and sell
tickets for the symphony.
She has served as chaplain and sunshine chairperson of the
Republican Women's Club. She sells more tickets for the
luncheon and fashion show which is the annual fund raising
event. This not only benefits Republican candidates but also
community projects.
Last but not least she is also active in her church, the
Lutheran Church of the Ascension. There she is chairperson of
the greeters, a position she has had for many years.
This lady is indeed one of Savannah's goodwill ambassadors.
Mr. Speaker, I will conclude with saying, ``When you really look at
the true difference between America and other countries, it's not just
our form of government, but it's our people, and Alexis de Tocqueville
said America is good because Americans are good. Velda Meyer is a true
example of that. She is a lady who has given, given, given, and given,
and altruistic American and a great America.''
____________________