[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 16, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         LUCILLE SMITH WATKINS

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment 
to recognize an outstanding teacher, mentor, and West Virginian--Ms. 
Lucille Smith Watkins. For almost 50 years, Lucille has taught at Logan 
County Elementary School with unmatched enthusiasm. At 73, she is still 
fiercely committed to teaching and harbors no intention of quitting, 
saying ``I like getting up and going to teach every day. The children 
seem to do real well. When I feel like I'm not helping them anymore, 
I'll retire.''
  Lucille credits her family for instilling an early appreciation and 
love for education--influenced by the sacrifices and efforts that they 
exerted in order to make higher education a possibility for herself and 
her six brothers and sisters. Her early love of education blossomed 
into a consuming lifelong passion of service to the school as she has 
often found herself cooking and buying groceries for the school along 
with teaching.
  Her outstanding commitment to teaching hasn't gone unnoticed in the 
state. On May 5, she received the very first Lucille Smith Watkins 
Award, an award in her honor presented annually by her school to the 
county's outstanding educator. On May 8, she won the Mary L. Williams 
black educator award during a West Virginia Education Association 
conference in Charleston. Yet, these awards and honors cannot match her 
smiles and pride for the achievements of her students. Beaming with 
price about her student's recent Young Writer's Award and her students' 
trophy for perfect attendance in her classroom, Lucille is a testament 
to her own love of teaching, and most importantly her love of her 
students.
  There is no better way to make a profoundly lasting impact upon the 
future than through nurturing the mind of a young child. Lucille is a 
refreshing example of the strength and endurance of one woman's attempt 
to make a difference. Speaking for the citizens of West Virginia, I am 
proud to have such an outstanding woman in our state and challenge 
others to strive to affect and mold the lives of children as 
successfully as she has.

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