[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1180-E1181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 SHELLEY KENNEDY: A POSITIVE INFLUENCE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 1999

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, our communities grow and succeed when there 
are strong leaders who have a sense of loyalty to the community. I rise 
today to pay tribute to one such person who made it her life's work to 
provide her students, who needed a helping hand with the tumultuousness 
of growing up, the extra attention and support to be able to succeed. I 
would like to commend Shelley Kennedy for her years of dedication and 
service to the thousands of young adults whose lives she has profoundly 
touched.
  Shelley, a native of Pennsylvania, moved to Michigan to pursue a 
teaching degree at Michigan State University. She epitomizes the soul 
of caring and giving for youngsters and began her lifelong career of 
teaching children with special needs in the Detroit public schools. She 
moved to my hometown of Bay City, Michigan, in 1975 and continued her 
work of making a positive and tremendous impact on her students.
  While teaching students at the Bay County Juvenile Home, she realized 
that many of her students returned to the home because they 
continuously engaged in the same troubling acts. In response, she and a 
colleague established Bay County's only charter school in 1986 to 
provide more individual attention to the students who needed extra 
guidance and encouragement to keep them focused on the importance of 
good education.
  By lending a helping hand to the entire spectrum of students, from 
teenaged parents to juvenile offenders, Shelley Kennedy has given many 
students a new beginning and a new outlook on life. By teaching them 
these

[[Page E1181]]

important life skills necessary to succeed, she has provided a 
tremendous service to society as a whole. Her legacy is written in the 
students she supported and provided for, and that legacy is 
immeasurable.
  She could not have made such a tremendous impact and achieved her 
great accomplishments without the support of her family including her 
loving husband, Brian, and her daughter Shannon. While Shelley has 
retired from teaching, she continues her steadfast mission to improve 
her community by remaining active with Hospice, the Literacy Council 
and numerous other nonprofit organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, Shelley Kennedy has reached out to students with unique 
challenges and has motivated countless individuals to pursue a better 
and brighter future. We wish her all the best, and give her a heartfelt 
thank you. I ask you, and all of my colleagues, to join me in 
commending her outstanding accomplishments and wishing her all the best 
in the years ahead.

                          ____________________