[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 13, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S8403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRI-CITIES, TN-VA: 1999 RECIPIENT OF THE ALL-AMERICA CITY AWARD

 Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, when our Founding Fathers began 
their fight for our Nation's independence, they had a vision of what 
America would be like. They saw a free and self-reliant people, ruled 
by State and local governments, who took responsibility for their own 
welfare and progress, and cared for themselves and for others in their 
own communities.
  When Alexis de Tocqueville came to America almost a century later, 
that is what he saw. He later wrote that, In America, when a citizen 
saw a problem that needed solving, he would cross the street and 
discuss it with a neighbor, together the neighbors would form a 
committee, and before long the problem would be solved. ``You may not 
believe this,'' he said, ``but not a single bureaucrat would ever have 
been involved.''
  While today our citizens are increasingly ruled, not by local 
governments, but by Washington, the essence of what it means to be an 
American has not changed: We are a people willing to lend a hand, lift 
a spirit, and work together to make our land a better place.
  For 50 years, the All-America City Awards have designated--from among 
all the cities in America--10 communities that have carried on this 
time-honored tradition and kept the spirit of America alive. And I'm 
proud to say that among this year's winners is Tri-Cities, TN-VA, a 
place our founding fathers would recognize as a fulfillment of their 
vision of what a free people, living and working together, can 
accomplish.
  Among the criteria by which all participants were judged were citizen 
involvement, effective government performance, philanthropic and 
volunteer resources, a strong capacity for cooperation, and community 
vision and pride. And, Tri-Cities--the first-ever region to be so 
honored by this award--possesses those qualities in spades.
  Included in the presentation which tipped the judges' decision in 
their favor were their efforts to involve youth in the decision-making 
process; improve health care in isolated communities and create an 
interest in rural medicine among future physicians; and celebrate and 
preserve the Appalachian region's oral and musical traditions. And they 
did it all without government handouts or mandates from Washington. 
Their message, set to the sound of bluegrass music: we are willing to 
work; we are willing to lead.
  I think the song, written by a local storyteller and sung by all the 
Tri-Cities delegates, says it all:

     If you call, we will answer;
     If you need us, we will come.
     We'll lend a hand--there's strength in numbers;
     If we work together, we can get it done.

  Mr. President, on behalf of all the people of Tennessee, and all 
Americans everywhere, I congratulate the citizens of Tri-Cities, 
Tennessee-Virginia for their accomplishment. Not only they, but all of 
us, are winners because of their efforts.

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