[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 189 (Wednesday, November 29, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2253-E2254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO TOM LAZZARO

                                 ______


                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 29, 1995

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of honoring a 
colleague of mine who is retiring on December 3, 1995. After giving of 
himself 30 years of continued and dedicated service to the cognitive 
and affective growth of thousands of students at Miami-Dade Community 
College, he now seeks a well-deserved retirement from leading and 
teaching so many of the college's increasing number of prominent 
alumni. 

[[Page E 2254]]

  My good friend, Tom Lazzaro, is among a rare breed of hardy but 
compassionate leaders of young folks who found themselves learning both 
from his wise counsel and disarming compassion. Beginning his career at 
the college in 1964, he genuinely epitomized the dual role of teacher 
and coach, becoming one of our Nation's premiere college tennis 
coaches. Highly respected among his peers, he served as president of 
the National Junior College Athletic Men's Tennis Coaches Association 
from 1974-1994. He was inducted into three different halls of fame: the 
National Junior College Athletic Association Men's Tennis in 1992, the 
Dade County Tennis in 1995 and the Florida Community College Activities 
Association in this same year.
  As the Miami-Dade Community College's north campus tennis coach, he 
led the Falcon netters for 30 seasons, compiling an astounding .619 
career winning percentage of 356 wins and 219 losses. During that time, 
the Falcon tennis team won three consecutive national championships in 
1966, 1967 and 1968, finishing as national runners-up three times and 
winning seven Florida State tennis titles.
  Known throughout Florida as a coach extraordinaire and personal 
confidante of many a student-athlete at the college, Mr. Lazzaro 
developed 13 junior college all-American tennis players and went out of 
his way to obtain for 30 athletes scholarships to various 4-year 
institutions. It is this commitment to the future success of his 
students that endeared him to the hundreds of young athletes who chose 
to learn not only the athletic demands to which they were subjected but 
also prepared them to pursue with excellence the academic requirements 
toward furthering their education.
  During his teaching career at the college, this native of Hialeah 
instructed north campus students in health education, tennis, and 
nautilus training. Married for 42 years, Tom will now enjoy a much-
deserved retirement with his wife Joan, along with his seven children 
and the other grandchildren that make up the burgeoning Lazzaro clan.

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