[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1310-E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING MARION McCONNELL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILL BAKER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. Speaker, recently a remarkable woman in 
my district in California was named the 1996 Red Cross Volunteer of the 
Year. Marion McConnell of Moraga was recognized for her 46 years of 
outstanding service at a National Red Cross ceremony in Cleveland, OH 
earlier this year.
  For almost five decades, Marion has served by registering donors with 
the Red Cross Bloodmobile, chairing the Berkeley chapter of the Red 
Cross, writing the manual for coordinating the volunteer program, 
traveling the 11 Western States teaching from the manual to other Red 
Cross personnel, and coordinating volunteer activities at emergencies 
and disasters around the United States.
  Marion helped consolidate numerous local chapters into a single 
chapter which encompasses the 5 Bay Area counties, a chapter now having 
roughly 3,400 volunteers.
  Marion McConnell has given aid to countless hurting people in crisis 
after crisis. Her devotion to the work of the Red Cross has brought 
about transfusions for accident victims, food and shelter for victims 
of earthquakes and floods, and education for new volunteers who want to 
learn how to serve efficiently. Yet Marion's superb leadership has also 
meant a warm smile, a comforting word, and a caring spirit to 
frightened and distraught people who have seen their homes and even 
livelihoods vanish in an instant. This is a gift that cannot be 
measured but whose value is inestimable.

[[Page E1311]]

  I am extremely pleased to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring 
Marion McConnell. Her wonderful work is the embodiment of what it means 
to be a good neighbor, and she is more than deserving of recognition in 
the Congressional Record.

                          ____________________