[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE FRONTIERSMAN: PIONEERS FOR PROGRESS

                                 ______


                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 25, 1995

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, when any one of us faces a problem, the 
right answer is to work toward a solution. The Frontiers Club has been 
an organization that has done just that--work toward a solution--for 
many years. This Saturday, at the 40th annual banquet for the Frontiers 
Club, we will again celebrate another year's accomplishments as we 
prepare for yet another year of challenges.
  The Frontiers Club lives on cooperation. It brings together civic 
leaders, business leaders, education leaders, and a host of others 
concerned about how to make lives in their communities better. It is 
built on the ideals of concentration of local resources on matters of 
local interest. The club parallels itself on the early pioneers who 
forged ahead to make new and vital discoveries with no convenient road 
maps, taking risks as they found them and using their experiences to 
steel their later efforts. It is an image that should inspire all of us 
to do more because we have the opportunity to blaze new trails, not 
just follow after someone else.
  Frontiers International began in 1936 as an organization that was all 
black, looking to help the black community. Over the years its 
membership has expanded, its focus has retained its core interest in 
the needs of the black community, and expanded to include other matters 
of similar importance.
  The creed of the club sets an ideal for all us: to be committed; to 
know the club's agenda; to be prepared to change with changing 
conditions; to never be satisfied that matters are good enough; and 
that the key point of the organization is to help others who still need 
help. Every member is viewed as a potential leader, and can count on 
being called to be a leader. Every member is expected to meaningfully 
participate in planning club activities, club expansion, and club 
success.
  The list of projects supported by the Saginaw Frontiers Club is most 
impressive. The United Negro College Fund, the Children's Christmas 
Party, the Vitiligo Foundation, Education Scholarship Sponsorship, 
First Ward Community Center, Opportunities industrialization Center of 
Metropolitan Saginaw, Saginaw County Senior Citizens' Picnic, Lake 
Huron Area Boy Scouts, Saginaw High School Attendance Lottery, 
Friendship Games, Trinity-St. John Community Center, Edith Baillie 
School Washington, DC, Field Trip, Saginaw Community Education Science 
Fair, the NAACP, Frontiers City-Wide Youth Tennis Tournaments, and the 
Ruben Daniels Educational Foundation are all projects that benefitted 
from the wonderful, selfless activism of Saginaw Frontiers and its 
members.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that one passage of the induction ceremony for 
new members says it all. Members ``are bound by duty, honor, and 
gratitude.'' What a wonderful, simple and provocative mandate. It is 
one which would serve all of us well to follow. At a time when we are 
expecting the Federal Government to do less, and for people to do more 
within their own communities, organizations like the Frontiers Club are 
vital and deserve to be heralded. I urge you, Mr. Speaker, and all of 
our colleagues to join me in thanking and congratulating the leadership 
and membership of the Frontiers Club for its efforts, and urge them to 
continue to lead by example.

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