[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 40 (Friday, March 3, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        CHERRY BLOSSOM FESTIVAL

                                 ______


                            HON. MAC COLLINS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, March 3, 1995
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, in 1912 Mrs. William Howard Taft 
accepted 3,000 cherry trees as a gift from Japan for the Nation's 
capital.
  Since 1948 the National Conference of State Societies has sponsored 
the Annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Congress chartered the National 
Conference of State Societies in 1952 with Public Law 82-293. NCSS 
includes all of Washington's State and territorial societies. NCSS 
submits a financial report each year to the House Judiciary Committee. 
GAO has approved every audit for 42 years. President Abraham Lincoln 
was a member of the Illinois State Society, founded in 1854. Dozens of 
Members of Congress have served as presidents of State societies, 
including former Representative Bob Michel and Vice President Al Gore. 
Members and congressional wives currently chair the Michigan, Texas, 
Illinois, and Puerto Rico societies.
  As a member of Georgia State Society, I am pleased to announce the 
NCSS will once again sponsor this year's festival events from April 2 
through 9 in cooperation with National Park Service, the Downtown 
Jaycees, WRC-TV, and the Embassy of Japan. The festival celebrates our 
Nation's youth, represented by State and territorial cherry blossoms 
princesses, and celebrates our friendship with Japan.
  On behalf of many colleagues, I would like to recognize the generous 
support NCSS receives from corporate sponsors such as American Family 
Life Assurance Company, headquartered in Columbus, GA. AFLAC and NCSS 
will be partners in a special cherry blossom donation for relief of 
earthquake victims in Kobe, Japan. Forty-three years after Congress 
chartered NCSS we can be proud this group still serves its original 
purpose with energy and distinction.


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