[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S3509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MYRA LENARD

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the life 
of Myra Lenard. She was a daughter of Polonia who played an important 
role in the life of America.
  Myra Lenard was born in Poland and immigrated to America as a young 
girl. Like so many new Americans--she embraced her new country while 
never forgetting her homeland.
  Myra had a long career as a successful business woman and community 
volunteer. I got to know her because of our shared commitment to our 
proud Polish heritage. As the executive director of the Polish American 
Congress, she was one of our strongest voices for the people of Poland 
who were forced behind the Iron Curtain. We worked together to provide 
humanitarian relief and to support the growing democracy movement. She 
was one of Solidarity's best friends in America.
  During the darkest days of martial law in Poland, Myra led the Polish 
American Congress' ``Solidarity Convoy,'' in which 32 container trucks 
provided $10 million worth of supplies for the suffering people of 
Poland. This showed the Polish people that they were not alone.
  When Poland became free, Myra began her tireless efforts to rebuild 
Poland and to enable it to take its rightful place among Western 
democratic nations. This effort didn't begin in 1998--when the issue 
started to make headlines. It began in 1989, when Congress passed 
legislation to provide assistance to the new democracies of central 
Europe. It was a long process of educating Congress and the American 
people on how Poland's membership in NATO would contribute to America's 
security. Myra was there every step of the way. She was gentle but 
extremely persuasive. She was creative in tapping into the energy of 
the Polish American community who understand the history, and cared so 
deeply.
  Myra Lenard's life was a triumph. Her legacy is her family, as well 
as the deep friendship and alliance between the United States and a 
free, democratic Poland. I will miss her friendship and her counsel. 
Her beloved husband Cas and their children are in my thoughts and 
prayers.

                          ____________________