[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 83 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          MRS. ELLIE MCNAMARA

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today with great pleasure to 
recognize Mrs. Ellie McNamara for a career of exemplary service in 
Vermont public schools. Her career spans four decades, beginning in 
1958 as a fourth grade teacher, and for the last 17 years as principal 
of the C.P. Smith primary school in Burlington. She will retire at the 
close of this school year.
  There is no better evidence than the work of Mrs. McNamara to the 
truth of the adage, ``There is no substitute for a good teacher.''
  The devotion with which she met the challenges of teaching and then 
as a principal won her the hearts and minds of students, faculty and 
parents alike. She has made a difference.
  Even as she moves into retirement she continues to serve as a role 
model for all of us. I wish her well as she moves into the next stage 
of her life.
  Marcelle and I have known Ellie McNamara, her husband Jim who is a 
distinguished lawyer and her wonderful family for decades. Burlington 
and Vermont are proud of her and her family.
  I ask that an article regarding her retirement from the Burlington 
Free Press be printed in the Record.
  The article follows:

             [From the Burlington Free Press, May 28, 1998]

                      Retirement Is Principal Loss

                            (By Anne Geggis)

       Guests, gifts and tokens celebrating Ellie McNamara's 17 
     years leading Burlington's C.P. Smith School keep pouring in 
     as the days of her career run out.
       The message they all bring: Don't go.
       Wednesday, community members ranging from kindergartners to 
     her now-grown students to Gov. Howard Dean gathered to admire 
     the longtime principal's accomplishments. Janet Breen, a 
     mother of three, wasn't the only wistful attendee.
       ``She's a wonderful woman, wonderful,'' Breen said. ``I 
     wish she'd retire after my toddler left, but that would be 10 
     years.''
       Dean told the assembled crowd that McNamara is the reason 
     his kids are in Burlington schools. Faculty members got 
     teary-eyed talking of the fun she has brought to the New 
     North End elementary school.
       ``It's a huge loss,'' sighed Leslie Kaigle, a School Board 
     member from the Old North End who has worked with McNamara on 
     school committees. ``Her connections with families, with 
     people . . .''
       McNamara, however, remains firm that a career started in 
     1958 teaching his fourth-grade at the now-demolished Converse 
     School, should come to an end now.
       ``You should leave while the audience is still clapping,'' 
     she said, flashing her trademark toothy smile.
       The force of a personality that can memorize the names of 
     all 358 of her students and their siblings and parents, is 
     something to be reckoned with. In the space of a half hour 
     Wednesday, she examined a scraped knee, started a purple 
     fleece jacket on the road to a reunion with its owner and 
     watched more than 100 wriggling bodies during lunch.
       There's a devilish side, too: She's been known to take her 
     hairdresser's phone calls before the superintendent's. 
     Holding a conversation with her requires that eyes remained 
     fixed on her. Look away for a moment and she's gone around a 
     corner. She's often quoted as saying, ``I've got to see you. 
     I'll be back on a minute.''
       But ask what's planned for C.P. Smith's final assembly on 
     the last day of school, and the frenetic pace of this 62-
     year-old grandmother of six stills.
       ``The final assembly . . .'' she said, a catch in her 
     voice. Eyes suddenly turn misty. ``That's when . . . well, I 
     can't talk about it now.''
       Linda Dion, who has been school secretary for 16 of 
     McNamara's 17 years, picked up where McNamara left off: ``At 
     the end of the assembly, the fifth-graders march out as we 
     sing the C.P. Smith song. This time, Ellie will be marching 
     out behind them.''

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