[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 FIFTH ANNUAL GOLD KEY AWARDS DINNER OF THE LOS ANGELES OPPORTUNITIES 
                        INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER

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                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 1998

  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the Fifth Annual Gold 
Key Awards Dinner of the Los Angeles Opportunities Industrialization 
Center (LAOIC) and pay tribute to this year's honorees. We often hear 
people talk about the need to provide job training for those who are 
unskilled or whose skills have become obsolete. For the past five 
years, the LAOIC has been doing just that.
  Under the progressive leadership of Board Chairman Wally Fassler and 
President/CEO Bishop Leon Ralph, LAOIC prepares its students to be 
competitive in job markets with a future--automotive, computer and 
sales. LAOIC has been on a mission, and it has succeeded over and over. 
Since 1993, it has graduated nearly 600 students and boasts an 
outstanding job placement rate.
  Job training is only part of the story. LAOIC also includes life 
skills lessons. It helps its students become stakeholders in their 
communities with a positive outlook for the future.
  On October 7, 1998, LAOIC will host its Fifth Annual Gold Key Awards 
Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. In addition 
to raising much needed funds for its programs, LAOIC will honor several 
remarkable individuals who have blazed trails and made outstanding 
contributions to improving the plight of disadvantaged and 
disenfranchised people. The 1998 special honorees include: The 
Honorable Tom Bradley, the former Mayor of Los Angeles; Monsignor 
Gregory A. Cox, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities; and Dr. 
Clyde W. Oden, President and Chief Executive Officer of UHP HealthCare.
  The dinner chairmen are Kenneth T. Derr, Chairman of the Chevron 
Corporation, and Rev. Leon Sullivan, Chairman of OIC of America. The 
keynote speaker is Eli Segal, President of the Welfare to Work 
Partnership. The Partnership, which is comprised of 3,000 private 
sector employers, was formed to answer President Clinton's challenge to 
the business community to open employment opportunities for welfare 
recipients.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in commending the LAOIC for its 
tenacity, determination and spirit. LAOIC deserves our encouragement, 
applause and support.

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