[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 36 (Friday, March 25, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 COMMEMORATION OF THE INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSWOMEN'S GROUP ACCOMPLISHMENTS

 Mr. RIEGLE. Mr. President, today I rise to honor the 
Industrial Businesswomen's Group [IBG], an outstanding service club 
whose contributions to my hometown of Flint, MI, reflects the true 
spirit of community service.
  On April 11, after 60 years of making our community a finer place to 
live, the Industrial Businesswomen's Group will disband. The Flint 
Industrial Businesswomen's Group started in 1934 after Harlow H. 
Curtis, Buick Motor Division's general manager asked his secretary, 
Alice Dewey, to organize a club patterned after a group he had heard of 
organized at General Motors in Detroit, MI, ``to foster employee-
corporation relations.''
  Approximately 538 women attended the initial meeting on April 10, 
1934, chose the club's name and elected Alice Dewey as their first 
president. Ms. Dewey ``helped extend women's influence in the community 
by emphasizing service to worthwhile causes.''
  Over the years the Industrial Businesswomen's Group record of 
community involvement is without comparison. In the early years, the 
club's activities were mostly social. But as the needs of the community 
changed over time, the Industrial Businesswomen's Group adapted to meet 
them. The club has had a prominent role in the establishment of 
programs that will continue even as the group disbands. These include 
the formation of Big Sisters of Flint and Genesee County in 1955, the 
annual Harvest Ball for the mentally and physically disabled, and 
Operation Santa Clause in which gifts are collected for needy children.
  With over six decades of commitment and dedication to those in need 
from Flint and Genesee County, our community is surely saddened by the 
disbanding of the Industrial Businesswomen's Group but will forever be 
grateful for their immense beneficiary.

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