[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 102 (Wednesday, September 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO MRS. HELEN ELLIS JOHNSTON OF HUNTSVILLE, AL

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. ROBERT E. (BUD) CRAMER, JR.

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 2000

  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to a resident of my district and a dear friend, Mrs. 
Helen Ellis Johnston. Mrs. Johnston's accomplishments and service to 
her community would fill many a page. She is greatly loved and 
respected throughout the community and will be honored by the local 
chapter of the Arthritis Foundation with their annual Humanitarian 
award.
  A native Kentuckian, Mrs. Johnston is married to Mr. William Hooper 
Johnston. She has three daughters: Mrs. Patricia Vidler, Ms. Christy 
Catts, and Mrs. Cathy Nickelson. Mrs. Johnston moved to Alabama in 
1952. Shortly thereafter she began the years of nonprofit and volunteer 
service that have been the lifeblood of so many organizations.
  After arriving in Huntsville, Mrs. Johnston soon found her niche in 
working to improve this community's public health safety. She served 
for 12 years as Executive Director for the North District of the 
Alabama Lung Association of Alabama. In this position, she took a 
proactive approach to public health awareness helping to write and 
implement the first Alabama Health Curriculum Guide for schools across 
the State. Receiving a grant from the EPA, she conducted the first 
workshop in North Alabama to create citizen awareness on the need for 
adoption of the Clean Air Amendment and later served on Alabama's 
Environmental Quality Control Board.
  Among her numerous community service ventures, she shared her talents 
and gifts with the Symphony Guild originating and chairing both the 
first Symphony Ball in 1964 and the first Silver Tea in 1967 for the 
Youth Symphony. Mrs. Johnston inaugurated several of our community's 
premier charity social functions including the Von Braun Center's Beaux 
Arts Ball, the Library's ``Vive Le Livre'' and Huntsville Hospital 
Foundation's Celebrity Golf Classic.
  I believe this is a fitting tribute for one who has dedicated many 
years to serving the nation and the citizens of North Alabama. I send 
my congratulations to Mrs. Johnston and her family as she accepts the 
well-deserved Humanitarian Award from the Arthritis Foundation of North 
Alabama. On behalf of the people of Alabama's 5th Congressional 
District, I join them in celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments 
of a wonderful lady, Mrs. Helen Ellis Johnston.

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