[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 125 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10609]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO MAYOR ROBERT L. ALBRITTEN OF DAWSON, GEORGIA THE 1998 
                  AMERICAN HOMETOWN LEADERSHIP WINNER

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Mayor Robert 
L. Albritten of Dawson, Georgia on receiving the 1998 American Hometown 
Leadership Award, which is the only national award that recognizes 
leaders from small communities whose community service exhibits the 
highest standards of dedication, ability, creativity and leadership.
  Mayor Albritten was nominated by Dawson's Better Hometown Task Force 
and chosen from a field of 400 national leaders for his pacesetting 
efforts to save jobs at Almark Mills, a local textile plant employing 
250 people that shut its doors last Fall leaving Dawson on the brink of 
a major unemployment problem.
  Faced with a potential devastating blow to the town of 5,000 people 
and following days of feverish brainstorming, late-night phone calls 
and hours-long meetings with community leaders, rural development 
experts and a local accountant, Mayor Albritten and other community 
leaders emerged with an audacious plan-- the plant would become a 
cooperative, in which each worker would be an owner, and all would have 
a say and a financial stake in the running of the plant.
  However, Mayor Albritten was not satisfied with just creating jobs, 
he also set out to better the lives of all of those living in Dawson. 
He changed the city seal to read ``The City of Dawson, Committed to a 
Better Quality of Life for All.''
  Mayor Robert Albritten has been an innovator and leader, and his 
determination is truly commendable. He has devoted countless hours of 
his time and energy to improve the town of Dawson and to better the 
lives of all of its citizens, never hesitating to help in any way he 
could. He has not only led the people of Dawson, but he has inspired 
them. His efforts have also been recognized by having the Robert L. 
Albritten Neighborhood Community Center named in his honor.
  In addition to his endless work on behalf of the citizens of Dawson, 
Mayor Albritten continues his work as a funeral service practitioner. 
He and his wife Arna have three daughters, Andrea, Alisha and Ariana.
  Mr. President, I ask that you join me and our colleagues in 
recognizing and honoring Mayor Robert L. Albritten for his remarkable 
achievements and accomplishments as a citizen and as a leader which 
have culminated with his selection as the 1998 American Hometown 
Leadership recipient. Mayor Albritten is truly a remarkable man and a 
first-rate American richly deserving of such an honor.

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