[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 10, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE TO MYRA LENARD AND HER LIFETIME OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 10, 2000

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I pay tribute to Casimira (Myra) Lenard, a 
monumental philanthropist and Polish-American activist, who sadly 
passed away on May 1st at Walter Reed Army Hospital. For nearly 40 
years, Myra fought to find jobs for the meager, provide rations for the 
suffering, and promote democracy for the oppressed.
  Myra Lenard was born in Poland and immigrated to Chicago with her 
parents in 1927. Seven years later, she became a United States citizen. 
In 1962, she moved to Washington, DC after her surviving husband 
Casimir (Colonel, U.S. Army, Ret.) was assigned to the Pentagon. Soon 
later, she began a very successful 20-year career in the private sector 
employment placement industry, overseeing 11 placement offices on the 
east coast. Myra was highly respected in her profession, serving in 
several leadership positions within the personnel services industry. As 
president of the Capital Area Personnel Services Association, she 
successfully lobbied for title 7, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and for 
equal employment opportunities. In 1975, Myra was widely acknowledged 
for her efforts to find ``fee-free'' work for several hundred 
Vietnamese refugees. In addition, she used her many offices to support 
the growing Solidarity labor movement in Poland.
  In 1981, Myra left the private sector to become executive director of 
the Polish American Congress [PAC] in Washington, DC. She continued to 
support Solidarity by organizing record fundraising, including 22 
railroad cars of relief goods, valued at $7 million in 1981. To mark 
the first anniversary of Solidarity, she organized a ``Solidarity 
convoy'' of 32 large container trucks, valued at over $10 million.
  Myra Lenard's outstanding leadership of the Polish American Congress 
and its accompanying charitable fund [PACCF] allowed the organization 
to qualify for Federal funds, administered through the U.S. Agency for 
International Development [USAID] and the Combined Federal Campaign 
[CFC]. In addition, the PAC's Washington, DC office administered a 
series of National Endowment for Democracy [NED] grants, helping to 
sustain a measure of hope for democracy in the Communist-controlled 
Poland.
  Furthermore, Myra expanded the relationships of the PAC with the U.S. 
Congress, Executive Office of the President, Department of State, and 
several other governmental agencies. Through her many contacts, the 
Polish American Congress engaged in strong lobbying campaigns for the 
Immigration Reform Act of 1986, as well as the Support of Eastern 
European Democracy Act of 1989 [SEED ACT], containing needed 
appropriations for Poland. Some of Myra's later efforts included 
lobbying to secure to the present Oder-Neisse border with Germany and 
Poland's recent entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
[NATO].
  For these many efforts, Myra Lenard was appropriately given numerous 
accolades, including Poland's highest award for foreign civilians. 
Today, I am pleased to offer my own words of praise to my colleagues 
about this great leader. While Poland was still suffering from the 
plague of Communism, Lech Walesa stated: ``The supply of words in the 
world market is plentiful but the demand is falling--let deeds follow 
words now.'' Mr. Speaker, Casimira (Myra) Lenard followed these words 
with unending devotion and activism. Again, I thank her for over 40 
years of tremendous service for two great nations.

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