[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E403-E404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                    TRIBUTE TO DR. HERBERT L. CARTER

                                 ______


                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 22, 1995
  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to have this opportunity to 
salute my good friend Dr. Herbert L. Carter on the occasion of his 
retirement as president and chief executive officer of the United Way 
of Greater Los Angeles. Herb's retirement, effective February 27, 1995, 
will be short-lived. In fact, he is only reshifting his energies and 
focus. He will return to the California State University system as a 
trustee professor on the campus of Los Angeles State University at 
Dominguez Hills.
  As head of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Dr. Carter provided 
leadership and management direction at a time when philanthropy to the 
organization was sorely tested. He directed a staff of approximately 
200 individuals and managed a budget in excess of $60 million.
  Dr. Carter guided the organization through two especially difficult 
periods. First to occur were the civil disturbances of 1992 and second, 
the Northridge/Los Angeles earthquake of 1994. Both of these 
catastrophes placed severe strains on the many organizations that 
depend on the United Way for funding. Through his tenacity and fund-
raising acumen, however, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles not only 
confronted the disasters, but prospered in its efforts to continue 
providing funding for its member organizations.
  Five years ago, I had the pleasure of introducing my colleagues to 
Dr. Herbert L. Carter. The occasion was a history-making one as Herb 
stood poised to become the first African-American chairman of the board 
of directors of 
 [[Page E404]] the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. The vehicle was 
the Congressional Record. It was my honor then--as it is now--to extol 
the virtues of this virtuous human being. A man who has devoted a 
distinguished career to making this society a better place for our 
children and our grandchildren.
  The contributions which he has made to Los Angeles are numerous. 
Aside from the contributions he has made in the California State 
University System and with the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Herb 
serves on the board of directors of Pacific Enterprises, Golden State 
Mutual Life Insurance Co., the National Advisory Council of the Hughes 
Aircraft Co. public education project, the board of regents for Loyola 
Marymount University, and the University of Southern California's 
School of Public Administration board of counselors. And that is only a 
partial listing of his affiliations.
  Mr. Speaker, most individuals view retirement as a well-earned 
reward, an occasion to rest and enjoy the fruits of his/her labors, and 
the culmination of a lifetime of contributions made to a noble purpose. 
Herb Carter, however, is several cuts above most individuals. He is a 
man of vision and of enormous energy and focus, a man who possesses a 
passionate commitment to helping society become more Utopian. Those of 
us privileged to know him have long since dispensed with the notion 
that he has any intention of retiring and enjoying the fruits of his 
labors, and we are all the better for that decision.
  Mr. Speaker, the late, celebrated, and distinguished Supreme Court 
Chief Justice John Marshall once noted that, ``A great man represents a 
great ganglion in the nerves of society, or to, vary the figure, a 
strategic point in the campaign of history, and part of his greatness 
consists in his being there.''
  Dr. Herbert L. Carter is such a man and I am proud to recognize him 
and commend him on his outstanding contributions to the citizens of Los 
Angeles. Well done, my friend.


                          ____________________