[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 53 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       A TRIBUTE TO JOE WILLIAMS

  Mr. BOREN. Mr. President, as the employees of the Williams Companies 
honor Joe Williams, chairman of the board, today on the advent of his 
retirement after 35 years of service, I would like to join them in 
paying tribute to this outstanding Oklahoman and good friend.
  People like Joe Williams are the real trustees of this country. He is 
one of those people who finds satisfaction in being part of causes that 
are more important than any of us as individuals. His leadership and 
wisdom guide institutions such as the Nature Conservancy which will 
continue to impact the lives of Americans for generations to come.
  I respect Joe Williams because he acts with the courage of his 
convictions and he does not give up easily. I have worked with Joe on a 
variety of projects and each time he has demonstrated great vision and 
integrity. At times our projects received criticism, but Joe would 
never give up. I remember when he led the business community in support 
of major reforms and tax increases to improve education in our State. I 
have seen him, as a fellow trustee of Yale University be willing to 
stand apart from the majority to present a perspective which needed to 
be considered. He always insisted on doing what was right. He would 
say, ``We can't think about the way people feel about it today, we have 
to think about the way people will feel about it 10 years from now, and 
50 years from now, and how it will impact the next generation.''

  I have talked to Joe many times on the phone when I know that he has 
been terribly busy, whether he just had come back from a trip to 
another country, or he just had been traveling coast to coast. Given 
all the pressures on his time, never once has he told me that he was 
too busy to get involved in another educational program or with a 
project that would benefit Oklahoma.
  Several years ago, Joe and I talked about establishing a Tallgrass 
Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma, about bringing the bison back some day, 
and about trying to preserve the land as the pioneers saw it when they 
came west. We shared the dream of seeing our children and grandchildren 
looking out across the Tallgrass Prairie, allowing them to feel the 
spirit and passion which the prairie instilled in the pioneers. It is a 
sense of freedom and individual liberty central to what it means to be 
an American. Largely because of the leadership of Joe Williams, that 
dream has been realized and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve now exists 
and is operated by the Nature Conservancy which Joe Williams has 
chaired at both the State and national levels.
  When I think about those who will leave America better than they 
found it, I think of Joe Williams in that group of great citizens who 
truly invest themselves in service to others. I am proud to join his 
many friends and colleagues in wishing him well in his corporate 
retirement and in this new civic endeavors.

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