[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARY CLARDY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 1997

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mary 
Clardy, an extraordinary young woman whom, I am proud to say, is a 
constituent of the 18th Congressional District of Texas. I want to 
congratulate Ms. Clardy for her selection as the 1997 Peter J. Salmon 
National Blind Employee of the Year by National Industries for the 
Blind.
  The Peter J. Salmon Award is given annually by the National Institute 
for the Blind to a blind employee working at one of the institute's 87 
associated agencies throughout the country. The award recognizes 
outstanding achievement at work by a blind employee and this year is 
given to Ms. Clardy for her desire to, in her own words, ``make it on 
her own.''
  Mary Clardy is dedicated and determined. Blind since birth, Ms. 
Clardy, age 37, has excelled professionally as a telecommunications 
operator at the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center in Houston, TX.
  Ms. Clardy's supervisor at the VA says that Ms. Clardy represents 
everything that a good employee should be. Her exemplary performance at 
work, and her dedication and enthusiasm for her job are an inspiration.
  Ms. Clardy has said, ``I found out that, despite a misdiagnosis that 
I was mentally retarded, despite the fact that I have epilepsy, and 
despite the fact that I can not see, I can learn and I can work. It's 
that simple.''
  At an early age, Mary Clardy was told that she would be lucky to land 
a job as an assembly line worker. Today, however, she handles up to 70 
calls an hour at the VA's switchboard, many requiring emergency 
response techniques.
  Mary Clardy was born prematurely in Hobbs, NM in 1960. She developed 
retrolental fibroplasia at birth from a high level of oxygen emitted 
from an incubator and lost her sight. She graduated in 1978 from the 
School for the Blind in Muskogee, OK, moved on to Arkansas Enterprises 
for the Blind in Little Rock, AR, and then attended the Crisis Cole 
Rehabilitation Center in Austin, TX.
  In 1983, the Lighthouse of Houston hired Ms. Clardy to work on 
contract assembly jobs. She says, ``I worked for almost 10 years at a 
job that everyone thought I was suited for, but it wasn't what I 
wanted.''
  When a clerical program started at the Lighthouse, Mary Clardy 
convinced her counselor at the Texas Commission for the Blind to enroll 
her. Over the next year, she learned to type and operate a computer. 
She then pushed to be one of the first students at the Lighthouse's 
customer service training program. That led her to her current position 
at the Lighthouse as one of six telecommunications operators working at 
the VA Medical Center. Ms. Clardy credits the Lighthouse for helping 
her to develop the skills for this job, which she views as another step 
toward competitive employment. ``If you want something bad enough, 
there is always a way to achieve it,'' she says. This is a winning 
attitude and one that has carried Mary Clardy to great success.
  Congratulations, Mary Clardy, on your receipt of this award. I 
commend you for your hard work, your dedication, and your strength of 
spirit.

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