[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       A SPECIAL DAY, A SPECIAL EVENT, AND VERY SPECIAL STUDENTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. de la Garza] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend I participated in an 
Earth Day celebration back home in my district. The event was a 
Hometown Trees celebration and took place at the Kika de la Garza 
Elementary school whose principal is Mr. Jose Louis Trigo.
  We planted a live oak tree in remembrance of the children of the 
Oklahoma bombing tragedy. This was donated by first grader Amy Sojak 
and her classmates. Amy and her classmates are students of Miss 
Veronica Galvan. Fourth grade student Joel Espinoza was the master of 
ceremonies. And awards were presented to the following students for 
their essays which emphasized the special and unique benefits provided 
by trees: Victor Villarreal, Brandi Martinez, Andres Aguilar, Juan 
Carlos Lopez, and Denise Sepulveda.
  What was particularly exciting about the occasion is that 10 year old 
Victor Villarreal was recognized as the Hometown Trees National Essay 
Contest Winner for the Southwest region. He is the son of Guadalupe and 
Francisca Villarreal.
  Over the past 5 years, Hometown Trees, sponsored by IGA supermarkets, 
Louisiana-Pacific and Coca-Cola, has teamed up with thousands of local 
volunteers in communities nationwide to ensure that the future 
generations will enjoy the ecological and aesthetic benefits of trees. 
This year, as part of the Hometown Trees initiative, IGA sponsored a 
nationwide environmental essay contest for children age 12 and under.
  Young Victor won the contest--quite an accomplishment and one of 
which he can be very proud. His essay was chosen for its uniqueness and 
creativity. It vividly captures the importance of trees from a child's 
perspective.

  It reads: ``Trees are important in my hometown because at La Joya, 
`The Jewel of the Valley,' we treasure trees--our jewels. They add that 
special spark that only nature can provide. Anything that mother nature 
creates, is a true treasure that no other power can originate. Treasure 
your jewels!''
  To specifically honor Victor's accomplishment a tree donated by IGA 
and Carl's Grocery was planted. It will forever be a living monument to 
him. These trees will be enjoyed by all the community.
  What made this occasion particularly unique for me is that I feel the 
sentiments expressed by Victory are shared by his fellow students. What 
I saw in the faces of the youngsters was an eagerness not just to 
participate in an event for the one day we officially recognize as 
Earth Day, but rather a desire to make every day Earth Day.
  This tells me that as we celebrate this 26th Anniversary we have 
passed on to our children and grandchildren how important it is to look 
after our environment in the way we live our lives every day. That is 
quite an accomplishment--and Victor, and all of his fellow students, 
are quite an outstanding group of youngsters.

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