[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 49 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E691]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E691]]
                           TRIBUTE TO DON BYE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 1998

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Don Bye of 
Duluth, Minnesota.
  Don has rendered long, distinguished, and dedicated service to the 
City of Duluth, Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, and all of 
Northern Minnesota. For more than a quarter century, he has served 
Northern Minnesota in numerous ways through his multifaceted political 
and community activism.
  In particular, I wish to note that Don Bye has completed over a 
quarter century of service as Chairman of the 8th Congressional 
District's Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DEL) party and is now entering his 
27th year in that capacity. That makes him the longest continuously 
serving Chairman of any of Minnesota's eight Congressional District DFL 
committees. I know I am joined by DLFers throughout our district in 
saying a heartfelt thanks to Don for his tireless, selfless service. 
Don Bye's greatest contribution has been to show people how to work 
together. He has brought together individuals with diverse and 
sometimes contentions positions through his dedication, hard work, and 
diplomacy. In large part because of his efforts, the 8th District DFL 
Party has a cohesiveness that is envied by other political groups in 
the State of Minnesota.
  When redistricting was completed following the 1990 census, Don moved 
quickly to contact county unit chairs from the newly added sections of 
Minnesota's 8th Congressional District. He made sure that people from 
Sheburne and Benton counties felt welcome in their new Congressional 
District and included them early on in activities of the 8th District 
unit, including important leadership positions.
  Don Bye has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years. He 
assisted numerous clients in the areas of labor and employment law, 
public sector labor law, employment discrimination and personal injury 
law. He was a Member of the Minnesota State Board of Governors from 
1989-1992.
  Don Bye was instrumental in starting two programs that affected 
thousands of people in Duluth: the Share Food Drive and Kids Voting 
USA. In 1982, Don has an idea for a citywide effort to benefit those 
less fortunate, known as the Share Food Drive. Don recruited a staff 
person to organize the new program, and enlisted volunteers from the 
Duluth area. One weekend a year, boy scouts, union members, and other 
volunteers go door-to-door collecting food items and cash from Duluth 
residents. Local trucking companies donate the use of trucks, union 
members volunteer to drive the trucks, and church organizations offer 
the use of buildings to assist in the effort. The Share Food Drive 
generates 20,000 to 40,000 pounds of food a year for the Duluth Food 
Shelf.
  Don Bye knows the future of our country lies in the hands of 
America's youth, which inspired him to initiate the Kids Voting USA 
project in Duluth--the first community in Minnesota to participate in 
Kids Voting USA. Don also served on the original organizing committee. 
Don and his fellow volunteers, by donating their time and money, made 
Duluth's Kids Voting USA project a model for the nation. He brought 
people together and got them excited about the idea of giving school 
children the chance to participate in the electoral process on Election 
Day. Under this project, children can pick up a ballot at the polls and 
vote at their own booth at the same time that the parents are casting 
their official ballots. Local schools also participate by exposing 
students to the political process in their social studies and civics 
classes.
  Six thousands school children in Duluth participated in Kids Voting 
USA in 1994, the first year of the program. By 1996, 31,000 children in 
ten communities in Northern Minnesota had joined in exercising the 
privilege enjoyed by millions of American citizens--casting a ballot 
for candidates for elective public office. Democracy will benefit in 
the years to come from young people inspired so early in their lives by 
this unique opportunity to participate in the election process.
  I am proud and honored to share with my colleagues this brief, but 
deserved tribute to Don Bye, who has given so much of himself to enrich 
the lives of others and to serve his community.

                          ____________________