[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO AL BEAUCHAMP

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
true public servant, a dedicated husband and father, a Rutland, Vermont 
community leader, and a friend. I rise today to pay tribute to Al 
Beauchamp, who passed away on September 5, at the age of 72.
  The eloquent editorial printed in the Rutland Daily Herald on 
Tuesday, September 8, expresses best how much Al meant to the community 
of Rutland, and to the entire State of Vermont. I ask that the text of 
that editorial be included in the Record. 

             [From the Rutland Daily Herald, Sept. 8, 1998]

                              Al Beauchamp

       Alfred J. Beauchamp of Rutland, who died on the weekend at 
     the age of 72, was one of those citizens who do a great deal 
     of work for a community but in such a quiet way that many 
     others in the community aren't aware of what he has 
     accomplished.
       Whether it was in business, in civic work or in politics, 
     he was a master craftsman at achieving consensus and getting 
     things done.
       His Rutland High School yearbook entry (Class of 1944) gave 
     a pretty good preview of what his career would be like. With 
     the high school nickname of ``Al-bo'' the notation takes up 
     17 lines of participation from freshman to senior years for 
     Alfred Joseph Beauchamp. Some examples:
       ``Class president, 2,3; orchestra, 1,2,3,4; pit orchestra, 
     2,3,4; band, 1,2,3,4; president of band, 3; Student Council, 
     1,2,3,4; Student Council president, 4; home room president, 
     1; home room basketball, 1,2,3,4; National Honor Society, 
     3,4; varsity basketball, 4; varsity track, 3; all-state band, 
     1,2,4.''
       There are a number of other entries in the list, but the 
     citations give an indication of very active participation in 
     the school community, a proclivity for community work that 
     was to continue throughout his life.
       In 1944, the year Al Beauchamp graduated from high school, 
     the involvement of the United States in World War II was 
     reaching its climax. In those days, every able-bodied male 
     who reached the age of 18 knew what was in his immediate 
     future--he would be taken into the military. The only 
     question was whether the call would come in the July or 
     August after high school graduation.
       Al Beauchamp didn't wait for the draft. He joined the 
     Merchant Marine, and in the course of his service was in a 
     number of wartime convoys.
       After that there was college, entering the insurance 
     business, a family, and innumerable civic activities like the 
     local Chamber of Commerce, where he eventually became 
     president, and the United Way, to name just two.
       As a member of the state Senate from Rutland County, Al 
     Beauchamp served two terms. He was also a trustee of his alma 
     mater, the University of Vermont, and was a member of several 
     other state boards.
       At the end of his second Senate term there were a number of 
     people in Rutland, including the late publisher of the 
     Herald, Robert W. Mitchell, who felt he could be in line to 
     go on to be lieutenant governor, and eventually advance even 
     further.
       But there was no question at the time, as is still the case 
     today, that continued involvement in politics means more and 
     more time spent away from close ties with family, so he chose 
     not to continue in that line.
       True to his nature, he put family and community above 
     personal ambition. That was Al Beauchamp all the way.

                          ____________________