[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 150 (Monday, September 25, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14209-S14210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JASON REESE

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I would like to take the time today 
to commend a very special Tennessean who has shown tremendous strength 
of character and a will to succeed. Jason Reese is an 18-year-old from 
Morristown, TN, who has just been named the Boys & Girls Club of 
America's 1995-96 National Youth of the Year for his commitment to 
community service, scholastic achievement, and leadership skills.
  Jason entered the competition for National Youth of the Year when he 
became the Morristown Boys & Girls Club's Youth of the Month and later 
their Youth of the Year. He was then chosen Youth of the Year by the 
State of Tennessee and the southeast regional representative for the 
national competition. The finalists traveled to Washington, D.C. and 
were judged on their activities in their local Boys & Girls Clubs, 
their values and integrity, their academic achievements, their service 
to their communities, and their commitment to their families.
  As the National Youth of the Year, Jason will have the opportunity to 
meet with youth from Boys & Girls Clubs throughout the country and 
discuss the impact the programs can have on one individual. For years, 
Jason lived without a male role model. But through drive and 
determination, Jason Reese overcame those obstacles, and he has become 
a role model for other youths.
  Jason was abandoned by his father when he was a baby, and later his 
stepfather abandoned him and his two younger stepbrothers. Jason grew 
up quickly, holding a part-time job, working hard in school, and caring 
for his brothers at home while his mother worked and attended school. 
He also joined the Boys & Girls Club in Morristown, where he grew up in 
other ways. There, he served as a junior staff member, a member of the 
Keystone Leadership Club, and as a delegate to the club's board of 
directors. He took part in most of the club's programs, and he learned 
the social and leadership skills that he says gave him the motivation 
and self-esteem he needed to succeed in his school, community, and 
family.
  Outside of the Boys & Girls Club, Jason has volunteered in nursing 
homes, helped refurbish a local park, and tutored younger children. 
Throughout that time, he maintained a 3.83 cumulative grade point 
average in his advanced and college placement curriculum at Morristown-
Hamblen School West, and he took on enough responsibilities at home to 
allow his mother to work and graduate from college with a degree in 
psychology.
  After 8 years in the Boys & Girls Club and a lifetime of his own 
dedication, Jason Reese has entered the University of Tennessee at 
Knoxville as a freshman honors student in engineering. In addition to 
being a National Merit Scholar and a UT Centennial Scholar, Jason will 
receive a $10,000 scholarship 

[[Page S 14210]]
from the Reader's Digest Association, which sponsored the National 
Youth of the Year Award. Those combined scholarships will cover the 
costs of Jason's tuition, books, and room and board for the next 4 
years.
  Mr. President, I had the pleasure to meet briefly with Jason at my 
constituent coffee last week when he was in Washington, D.C., with the 
other four finalists. Jason has the commitment and the integrity to 
lead the Nation's youth. And I have great confidence that his year as 
the National Youth will not only benefit him personally, but will have 
a positive impact on the millions of kids in Boys & Girls Clubs 
throughout the country.

                          ____________________