[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1323-E1324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM STATES LEE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SUE MYRICK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 1996

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an old 
friend and outstanding hero of North Carolina who passed away last 
week. William ``Bill'' States Lee was a model citizen who continually 
gave of himself for his country, community, friends, and family.
  Bill Lee was the former chairman and chief executive officer of the 
Duke Power Co. based in Charlotte, NC. A native of Charlotte and the 
grandson of Duke Power's first engineer, Bill joined Duke Power in 1955 
as a junior designer. He worked his way up through the ranks and, in 
1982, he became chairman and chief executive officer. In 1989, he was 
named chairman and president of Duke Power. Upon his retirement in 
1994, Bill Lee became Duke Power's first chairman emeritus.
  Bill Lee was best known professionally for his work in the field of 
nuclear power. He was the former chairman of the board of the Institute 
of Nuclear Power Operations. He was also a catalyst in the founding of 
the World Association of Nuclear Operators, where he was named its 
first president in May 1989. The Charlotte Observer referred to Bill as 
``perhaps the foremost international consultant in, and statesman and 
diplomat for, the nuclear power industry.''
  Prior to his service to Duke Power, Bill graduated from Princeton 
University as Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in civil engineering. 
He served in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineering Corp from 1951 to 1955, 
attaining the rank of lieutenant commander. Also, Bill received 
honorary doctorates from the University of South Carolina, the 
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University, 
Davidson College, and Clemson University.
  Despite Bill Lee's many professional accomplishments, he also made a 
powerful contribution to the Charlotte community. A family man, with 
his wife Jan and their three children, Bill was an elder at Myers Park 
Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, where he even found time to teach 
Sunday school. He also served as a trustee to the Harris Foundation, 
the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center at Charlotte 
Foundation, the Presbyterian Hospital Foundation, Queens College, and 
the conference board at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 
Foundation.
  I would also like to add that I lost a close and dear friend. Bill 
Lee's humor and charm were contagious to everybody around him. He was 
also one of the most giving people I have ever met. During my tenure as 
mayor of Charlotte, he was one of the people who helped our community 
recover from the disaster of Hurricane Hugo. On behalf of all of the 
millions of people whose lives are better because of Bill Lee's work, I 
extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Jan, and his entire family.
  Finally, I have taken the liberty of attaching a poem that Bill's 
daughter, Lisa Lee-Morgan, wrote for her father and read at his 
funeral. Bill, we will miss you.

                           Star-Spangled Man

     Star-spangled man, nor mere planet
     But a sun, a body fused
     By Proteus. Self-generating source of power,
     Shining light, hour on hour.
     Rush! wind, water, coal and coil,
     Quick! Split the atom, fuse the soil,
     Don't ever stop, embrace the toil,
     Christ-man, His disciple loyal.

     Blue eyes blazed like shooting stars
     Beneath the lightening brows of Zeus
     They let us know we'd his attention,
     (For better or worse I'll mention)
     Lover, hunter, father, friend,
     Bully, preacher, Charlotte's kin.
     Forgive us for we know not how
     To tread the step he's led til now.

     This warrior stood to lead the fight
     Against the dying of the light.
     The closing mind, the fading hope,
     The grasping hand, could find no grope
     In Bill Lee's camp, upon the lake
     Where children frolic, swim and play.
     He was our star, bright gravity
     Round whom we danced til God took Lee.

[[Page E1324]]



              JACK JACQUA, JOE MARSHALL OF OMEGA BOYS CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 1996

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Jack Jacqua and Joe 
Marshall of the Omega Boys Club in San Francisco on their recent award 
of the National Education Association's Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Memorial Award.
  The unrelenting determination and perseverance and faith of these two 
extraordinary men have succeeded in building the Omega Boys' Club from 
15 members to 500 since the club's inception in 1987.
  The Omega Boys' Club motivates at-risk youth to reject violence, 
succeed academically, gain adminission to college, offers employment 
and entrepreneurship training, adult and peer counseling, and affords 
them and important support network to get them off the streets and onto 
a successful life through higher learning.
  One hundred members of the Omega Boys' Club are currently enrolled at 
institutions of higher learning throughout the country. Omega not only 
helped them achieve the funding to go to school, it also gave them the 
tools, the skills and the support network essential to achieve great 
things.
  Jack Jacqua has been described as a surrogate father to many Potrero 
Hill families. Coming to Potrero Hill Middle School in 1973, he was 
compelled to challenge the drift afflicting students receiving the 
least encouragement and attention. ``I'd like to see their lives have 
purpose and direction * * * All they need is for someone to care.''
  Joe Marshall, co-founder and father of the Omega Boys Club, hosts a 
weekly radio talk show for at risk youth and tours the country telling 
the inspirational Omega story. His belief and commitment to young 
people knows no limits, and at-risk youth have thrived under his care 
and direction.
  These two men are heroes in the tradition of Martin Luther King, 
Jr.--recognized leaders who utilize outreach, education, and counseling 
to show young people that there are worthy alternatives to violence in 
their communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I salute Jack and Joe and wish them all the best as they 
continue their important, award-winning work with youth at the Omega 
Boys Club. This award is just one of many they greatly deserve for 
turning the lives of at-risk young people around.

                          ____________________