[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING FRED VANDERVEEN OF SALISBURY, MD

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
very special American, Mr. Fred Vanderveen, of Salisbury, MD. I am 
proud to say that Mr. Vanderveen is the 1997 winner of the National 
Heroes Award from the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association. This 
prestigious award is given each year to three individuals who make 
outstanding and unique humanitarian contributions to local sports 
programs throughout the Nation.
  Fred Vanderveen is a full-time high school biology teacher. But the 
classroom is only one area where Mr. Vanderveen is preparing our 
children for the future. He knows that developing the health and 
fitness of our children's bodies is as important as developing their 
minds. He also knows that kids need a safe place to go where they can 
have positive experiences, where they will be among friends, and where 
they will feel important. So he invested his life's savings in a sports 
and training facility called Youth Exercise Services. His facility is 
designed to meet the needs of mentally and physically handicapped 
athletes, at-risk youths, and anyone who will say no to drugs and yes 
to exercise.
  Mr. Vanderveen takes to his playing field at Youth Exercise Services 
the same way I take to the Senate floor: mission-driven, determined, 
and unwilling to lose. Through his dedication and hard work, the kids 
he touches learn that they don't have to lose either. Whether they are 
handicapped, at-risk, or just looking for a positive after school 
environment, they've got the chance to come out winners because Fred 
Vanderveen cares about each and every one of them.
  Mr. President, I want to give my warmest congratulations to Mr. 
Vanderveen, and to the kids whose lives he helps make better. His 1997 
Heroes Award is richly deserved, and the State of Maryland is proud to 
call him one of our own.

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