[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN HONOR OF MR. PAT TORNILLO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 5, 1998

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to publicly 
recognize an important civic leader and my good friend, Mr. Pat 
Tornillo.
  As some of you may know, Pat has been the leader of a nearly four-
decade effort to improve the public schools in the Miami-Dade County 
area.
  Pat arrived in the Great State of Florida in 1956. As a new teacher 
in Miami-Dade, he took an active role in the Dade County Classroom 
Teachers Association (which is now known as the United Teachers of 
Dade). Today, 42 years later, he serves as the Executive Director of 
that important organization.
  This week, on February 7, the educational and political communities 
of Florida are joining together to honor Pat L. Tornillo for his 
``Uncommon Commitment to Public Education.'' This commitment includes 
turning Miami-Dade's public schools into one of the largest and most 
culturally diverse school systems in the country today.
  Mr. Tornillo's work has been publicly noted before. He has won the 
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Brotherhood Award, the Outstanding 
Leadership Award from the United Way, and the NAACP Distinguished 
Award. Now, it is Congress' turn. Mr. Speaker, I ask for my colleagues 
to join me today as we honor a truly great American. A grateful nation 
thanks Pat Tornillo.

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