[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 52 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MERVIN G. MORRIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ANNA G. ESCHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 1999

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mervin G. Morris, an 
extraordinary man and my constituent of Atherton, California, who will 
be presented the Leading Citizens Award by the Boys & Girls Club of the 
Peninsula on Wednesday, April 21, 1999.
  As a third generation Californian, Mervin Morris was raised in the 
farming town of Delano, California. He joined the family business after 
serving four years in the United States Army during World War II. In 
1949, he founded Mervyns Department Store in San Lorenzo, California. 
From that original store in San Lorenzo, he built a department store 
chain that currently employs over 70,000 people worldwide.
  Mervin Morris has provided over a decade of service to the Boys & 
Girls Club. His vision resulted in the development of a new clubhouse 
to serve the youth in East Palo Alto which is slated to open next 
spring. The clubhouse in Redwood City is named in his honor, and he has 
been instrumental in garnering volunteer and donor support for a fully 
renovated facility in the Belle Haven neighborhood in Menlo Park.
  Mervin Morris' volunteer activities do not stop at the Boys & Girls 
Club. He currently serves as a Trustee of the Palo Alto Medical 
Foundation and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Eisenhower 
Medical Center. His involvement in countless other community 
organizations include the California Academy of Sciences, the Jewish 
Community Federation, Jewish Home for the Aged, the Palm Springs Desert 
Museum, the Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf, Scott Street Senior 
Housing, and the Stanford Athletic Department. Mr. Morris also 
continues his service to our military as a civilian advisor to the 
Commanding General of the Army and Air Force Exchange Services.
  Mervin Morris and his wife of almost fifty years, Roslyn, who is also 
being honored by the Boys & Girls Club, have four loving children and 
twelve beautiful grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, Mervin Morris is a man of outstanding character and I 
salute him for his remarkable contributions to our country and our 
community. We consider him a great blessing amongst us and I ask my 
colleagues to join me in honoring him as he receives the honor of being 
named a Leading Citizen by the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula. No 
one deserves this more.

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