[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 89 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1139-E1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  TRIBUTE TO MARLENE HOWARD, BIG SISTER

                                 ______


                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 1995
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, in a few days, we will be horning Marlene 
Howard on the occasion of her retirement from Big Brothers/Big Sisters 
of Monmouth County.
  Many of my colleagues in the House of Representatives met Marlene 
during her days in Washington as the right hand to her husband, Jim 
Howard, former chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation 
Committee. She is affectionately and respectfully remembered by many in 
Washington, DC, as a driving force behind many initiatives that 
resulted in saving thousands of lives and improving the condition of 
millions of other lives.
  Day after day, week after week, Marlene provided the gentle but 
persistent encouragement that helped Jim Howard gain enactment of anti-
drunk-driving legislation, reduction in the speed limit, and other 
important highway safety measures. As a leader in the Congressional 
Wives Club, Marlene made sure the other congressional wives lobbied 
their husbands to vote for these life-saving bills.
  She fought for other important causes, including increased funding 
for mental health programs, human rights and quality television 
programming for children. Without Marlene's initial and ongoing 
support, we would not have a flourishing congressional award for young 
people in New Jersey and elsewhere around the country.
  Marlene's involvement in helping at-risk teenagers and children 
extends back to her days in Washington when she was on the advisory 
board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Big Sisters. She received the 
Special Recognition Award in 1982 for her outstanding service as a 
caseworker and as the most active volunteer on the advisory board. In 
November a year earlier, she was honored as [[Page E1140]] Woman of the 
Year by the Monmouth County, NJ, Big Sisters/Big Brothers where she has 
worked for 15 years.
  Marlene has often quoted the phrase, ``One person can make a 
difference,'' and she certainly has proven that in her own career of 
public and volunteer service. There is probably no more of a difficult 
undertaking than trying to help young people who come from troubled 
backgrounds. It takes great patience, determination, and love to set 
many such children on their Journey to productive, happy lives. Marlene 
certainly devoted herself to those especially heart-wrenching and 
complex cases and she has made a great difference in the lives of many, 
many young people.
  It would be easy to expound further, but I think Marlene's career can 
be summed up by paraphrasing a slogan that was also used in a certain 
congressional campaign 15 years ago: ``She cares about people, it's 
that simple.'' It's from that caring that so much good has sprung.


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