[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN HONOR OF MARY BETH BLEGEN, TEACHER OF THE YEAR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Minge] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MINGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a resident of 
my district, Mary Beth Blegen. She was honored by President Clinton 
with the National Teacher of the Year Award. This type of recognition 
is not new to Mary Beth. She has been honored before by the accolades 
of her community and the success of her students.
  Mary Beth lives and teaches in my hometown of Worthington, MN, where 
she has also written an occasional column for the local paper. On 
several of these occasions, others in my district have sent me copies 
of these columns for my benefit and instruction.
  I remember one in particular that provided good hometown advice from 
the local coffee shop on how to balance the budget and dispense with 
the politics that so often contaminate the process. The restaurant, 
after all, is a repository of much wisdom in our society, and 
Worthington is typical of small communities with such restaurants in 
rural America. Unfortunately, we did not take all of the advice from 
the restaurant, and our balanced budget has not yet been accomplished.
  Mary Beth graciously accepted the Teacher of the Year Award this 
afternoon in a typical fashion, downplaying her achievement by 
recognizing the dedication and skill of teachers throughout America. 
She states that she accepted the award for all of her fellow teachers 
who are committed to their profession and their students.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge that you and other Members of this body join me 
in congratulating Mary Beth Belgen of Worthington, MN, as National 
Teacher of the Year. Also join me in congratulating the teachers from 
the other States throughout the country that were named teachers of the 
year in their respective areas, and finally, let all of us join in 
acknowledging that there are thousands, tens of thousands of teachers 
throughout this Nation who are not being recognized today except by the 
students whose lives they enrich and whose lives are so important, and 
education is so important to the future of our Nation.

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