[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 137 (Monday, October 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11449-S11450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO DAVE ROSE

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I take a moment to honor Dave Rose, an 
Alaskan who has dedicated his life to public service. This weekend the 
American Diabetes Association (Alaska area) is honoring Dave for his 
leadership in raising funds to combat this disease. He will be the 
first recipient of the ``Golden Rose Award'' honoring his commitment in 
the fight against diabetes.
  Dave has diabetes, but he hasn't let the disease slow him down. Even 
with impaired vision and regular dialysis treatments, he has been a 
tireless fund raiser, spokesman, and volunteer organizer. When Dave 
isn't working to help combat diabetes he lends his time to a whole host 
of causes including the Anchorage Concert Association Foundation, the 
Alaska Pacific University Foundation, the Alaska Federation of Natives 
Sobriety Foundation, and the Alaska Community Foundation. Dave and his 
wife Fran also have their own foundation which distributes funds to 
arts, health, and higher education programs.
  Dave's leadership in Alaska goes beyond the philanthropic. After a 
distinguished career in the Army, he spent many years on the Anchorage 
Assembly. He also shepherded Alaska's permanent fund from a fledgling 
portfolio to the multi-billion dollar account which stands as a rainy 
day fund for the time when Alaska's oil revenues decline dramatically.
  Dave's optimism, his love of people, and his willingness to share his 
talents for the betterment of others deserves our recognition. Alaska 
is a better place for Dave's dedication and commitment.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article about Dave 
Rose entitled ``Golden Attitude'' be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 29, 1998]

                            Golden Attitude

                           (By Susan Morgan)

       All was quiet in Dave Rose's offices at Alaska Permanent 
     Capital Management Co. one morning last week, so he figured 
     the stock market was doing well.
       ``I'd hear screaming'' if there was trouble, said Rose, the 
     company's chairman.
       Rose, first director of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., 
     knows the signs. Since retiring in 1992--the fund grew to 
     $13.5 billion from $3.8 billion and earned more than $8 
     billion in cash during the 10 years he was there--he's been 
     running his own money management company, now investing about 
     $1.5 billion dollars for Alaska clients.
       As during his tenure with the Permanent Fund, business is 
     quietly successful.

[[Page S11450]]

       ``We are always classified as dull and boring. We hit a lot 
     of singles (return rates),'' Rose explained. ``If we hit a 
     double, we're euphoric.''
       This is a man who unabashedly loves his work. ``They pay me 
     to do this, which is fun.''
       That appreciation for the good things in life has been made 
     sweeter by Rose's recent struggles to maintain his health. 
     While many of those with diabetes suffer eye, heart or kidney 
     problems, Rose--diagnosed 15 years ago--has been hit hard by 
     all three.
       Now 61, he is dependent on daily shots of insulin, has no 
     vision in his left eye, underwent quadruple bypass heart 
     surgery this year and endures three hours of dialysis--losing 
     7 pounds of fluid each time--three times a week while he 
     awaits a kidney transplant.
       Dialysis is an arduous process in which Rose's blood is 
     removed from his body via a needle in an artery, then 
     ``dewatered'' and cleaned of toxins--work normally done by 
     healthy kidneys. The blood is returned through another needle 
     inserted in a vein. Rose's arm shows a long line of scars 
     from the process.
       ``I have nails in my workshop that are smaller than those 
     needles,'' he says.
       But Rose, who calls himself ``basically an optimist,'' 
     hasn't taken to his sickbed. He's been known to dress up in 
     costumes for the amusement of others during dialysis and has 
     added to an already jampacked personal schedule.
       In addition to owning several local businesses, running his 
     investment firm and serving as finance director for Gov. Tony 
     Knowles' current campaign, Rose has added the American 
     Diabetes Association to the already lengthy list of 
     charitable organizations to which he volunteers time and his 
     prodigious fund-raising energy.
       Crediting a ``good Rolodex'' for his success, Rose has led 
     a small group of local bicyclists to national championships 
     in the Tour De Cure, a fund-raising event for the American 
     Diabetes Association. For three years in a row, until this 
     year, ``Rose's Riders'' raised more money than any other team 
     in the United States--more than $80,000 in four years.
       Because of those efforts, the Alaska office of the 
     association has created the Golden Rose Award. In a ceremony 
     Saturday, Rose will be its first recipient.
       ``We wish to honor Dave for his generosity, as well as his 
     commitment . . . to improve the lives of people with diabetes 
     and to find a cure,'' district manager Connie Weel wrote in a 
     press release.
       Meanwhile, Rose looks for the best in his situation. With 
     just one arm to use during dialysis, he can't manage both a 
     book and the now-necessary magnifying glass, so he listens to 
     books on tape--especially his favorite ``trashy mysteries.''
       He even gets a kick out of a conversation with his doctor 
     about whether he should get a Seeing Eye dog.
       ``He said to get a Lab, If I do, because in Alaska, if 
     you're blind you can get a free hunting license.''
       Rose urges Alaskans to get a test to show if they're among 
     the millions of Americans with undiagnosed diabetes--``You 
     can deal with it if you catch it early enough''--and 
     emphasizes the importance of becoming an organ donor.
       Most important to him seems to be not letting diabetes 
     limit his life. He and his wife, Fran--they married in 1959 
     and she's now ``my eyes and driver''--dote on their Maine 
     Coon Kitten, two grown sons and gardens.
       ``I'm trying to live a normal life and fit everything in,'' 
     Rose says.

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