[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 134 (Thursday, September 22, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        CONGRATULATIONS TO HEATHER WHITESTONE--MISS AMERICA 1995

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I was proud to join my colleague from 
Alabama in sponsoring the sense-of-the Senate resolution congratulating 
and honoring Miss Alabama, Heather Whitestone, who was crowned Miss 
America 1995 on Saturday, September 17. Heather's win is truly 
historic: As a deaf woman, she is the first person with a disability to 
win the crown in the pageant's 74-year history. She is also the first 
Miss Alabama to win the crown since 1950. Heather was clearly the 
sentimental favorite of the Atlantic City audience, and received a 
standing ovation after her selection was announced.
  A 21-year-old accounting student from Birmingham, Heather is a junior 
at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, AL, where she is 
majoring in accounting. She is the daughter of William Whitestone and 
Daphne Gray, and chose ``Youth Motivation: Anything is Possible'' as an 
issue platform to highlight during her year-long reign as Miss America.
  Heather's mother looked at the various options available to deaf 
children and decided early on that her daughter would learn to speak. 
She attended public school until the fourth grade, and then went to the 
Central Institute for the Deaf in Denver, CO for 3 years, where 
emphasis was placed on the spoken word. She also learned classical 
ballet while studying there. Later, Heather returned to Alabama, where 
she graduated from high school with a 3.6 grade point average--without 
the use of interpreters.
  Helen Keller, the legendary blind and deaf educational pioneer who 
grew up in my hometown of Tuscumbia, said in her autobiography:

       The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then 
     that `W-A-T-E-R' meant the wonderful cool something that was 
     flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave 
     it light, joy, set it free!

  Although Heather Whitestone cannot hear, she has throughout her young 
life used the spoken word to express the joys of her soul, just as 
Helen Keller did many years ago. Our new Miss America is a living 
testament to the triumph of the human spirit and an inspiration to 
those who are disabled or who have ever doubted their abilities in any 
way. I am proud to add my congratulations to those already given 
Alabamian Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995. She is certainly proof 
that anything is possible.

                          ____________________