[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 77 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO GERALD H. LIPKIN

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute to 
a good friend and exceptional leader in the business community, Gerald 
H. Lipkin, as he is honored with B'nai B'rith International's Corporate 
Achievement Award.
  B'nai B'rith, one of the oldest Jewish organizations in our nation, 
has long recognized model citizens for their contributions in the areas 
of business, politics, philanthropy and the arts. By conferring this 
prestigious award for Corporate Achievement on Gerry Lipkin, B'nai 
B'rith is recognizing his contributions to his community, his business 
savvy and generosity.
  Gerry, like me, came from humble beginnings, he from Passaic and I 
from Paterson. But we both made our way in the world of business. From 
a young age, Gerry knew what his passion was as he worked his way 
through school, earning an undergraduate degree in economics at Rutgers 
University as well as a master's in business administration at New York 
University.
  His business acumen is exemplified by his success at Valley National 
Bank, a leading financial institution with 97 branches in Northern New 
Jersey. Gerry began his career there in 1975 as Senior Vice President, 
and steadily rose to hold the joint positions of Chairman, President 
and CEO. Valley National has been nominated by U.S. Banker's magazine 
as the second most efficient bank and eighth overall best performing 
banking company out of America's 100 largest.
  Beyond his business accomplishments, Gerry's philanthropic 
contributions to New Jersey and to causes across the globe are widely 
acknowledged, as is his keen sense of humor!
  Gerry has been a staunch supporter of an organization close to my 
heart. For 15 years he has been involved with the Lautenberg Center in 
Jerusalem, Israel, serving as a board member and supporting its work on 
cancer and immunology research. I founded the Lautenberg Center at 
Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center in 1968. And twenty years 
later, Gerry was honored with the ``Torch of Learning Award'' in 1988 
for all that he has contributed.
  Gerry's volunteerism does not end there. He is also a trustee of the 
Beth Israel Hospital in Passaic, where he has served for 21 years, and 
sits on the board of trustees of Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center. 
Gerry is on the nominating committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New 
York and the Foundation Board of William Paterson College, which 
honored him with its Legacy Award in 1994.
  Mr. President, Gerry and I also both share a love of trains. Gerry's 
are miniatures, while I have an affinity for larger ones. At this 
point, I think Gerry has more trains than Amtrak, so maybe I should 
take transportation pointers from him in the future.
  I couldn't be happier to extend my congratulations to Gerry, and his 
wife Linda, for receiving this great honor. And I want to thank B'nai 
B'rith for recognizing Gerry's professional success and his exemplary 
service to New Jersey.

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