[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 20, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   A TRIBUTE TO SHARON AWE ON HER RETIREMENT FROM TEACHING AT SOUTH 
                         MILWAUKEE HIGH SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GERALD D. KLECZKA

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 1999

  Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sharon Awe, South 
Milwaukee High School's (SMHS) Director of Bands, who is retiring after 
34\1/2\ years of dedicated service to her students and to the 
community.
  Ms. Awe has shared her love for music with thousands of students 
during her career at SMHS. She inspired some to make music their 
careers, but her gift to all her students was a solid foundation of a 
lifetime appreciation for music and the arts.
  In more than 34 years of teaching, Sharon has been the driving force 
behind the South Milwaukee Rocket Band, and she will be sorely missed. 
And her dedication to her students and the music program did not end at 
the finish of each school term. Fro the past 25 summers, Sharon Awe and 
her band have participated in countless parades and competitions 
throughout the United States. South Milwaukee High School has a band 
room stuffed with awards and trophies, and has received a myriad of 
honors. Sharon and her students have proudly represented the State of 
Wisconsin at events such as Disney Music Days, the 1989 Gator Bowl, and 
even the 1996 Independence Day Celebration in Washington, D.C.
  But what Ms. Awe gave her students was much more important than a 
room full of trophies. She instilled in them a sense of accomplishment, 
discipline, and pride, and afforded them the opportunity for new 
experiences, camaraderie and memories they will treasure for a 
lifetime.
  And so it is with mixed emotions that I extend my congratulations to 
Ms. Awe on her well deserved retirement. The Rocket Band won't quite be 
the same without her striding proudly alongside it on the parade route. 
But I thank her for the enormous impact she has made on the lives of so 
many young people, and I wish her the very best for a happy and 
fulfilling retirement.

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