[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 102 (Wednesday, September 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARY MIYASHITA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 6, 2000

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mary 
Miyashita, who will be recognized as the Special Honoree for Lifetime 
Achievement at a reception held by Asian Week on August 13, 2000. This 
event will honor the Asian and Pacific Islander American Delegates to 
the Democratic National Convention 2000.
  Mary and I have been friends for 25 years and I am delighted to join 
her many admirers in honoring her lifetime of selfless and energetic 
service to the Asian-American community and to the Democratic party. I 
know of no one who has been more generous with her time, energy, money 
and even her home, than Mary has been in the pursuit of justice and 
equal opportunity for every individual.
  Mary has served on a plethora of civic organizations. She has been a 
board member of the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Women for Peace, 
the PTA and the Whittier Area Fair Housing Committee. She was a 
founding member of the Advisory Board of Meals on Wheels and of the 
Woman and Children's Crisis Shelter.
  The Democratic Party has no more stalwart member than Mary Miyashita. 
Since Adlai Stevenson's 1948 gubernatorial campaign, no major election 
has passed without Mary's active participation. She is a true believer 
in representative democracy, working tirelessly on behalf of numerous 
local, state and federal candidates and helping tip the electoral 
scales on more than one occasion.
  Mary has been either a delegate or an alternate to every Democratic 
National Convention since 1972. She served on the Los Angeles County 
Democratic Party's Central Committee for 20 years. Among the many 
awards showered upon her by grateful party organizations are Key Woman 
of the Democratic Woman's Forum, Democratic Woman of the Year in 1975 
and ``Superstar of '78.'' Mary is definitely a Superstar every year as 
far as I'm concerned.
  In 1976, Mary helped found the first Asian Pacific Caucus, which has 
grown into a prestigious and highly effective advocacy organization. 
Her service to the Asian-American community is virtually without peer. 
She has been my confidant and advisor on issues of importance to her 
for decades.
  In short, Mary is one of my favorite people and I am delighted to ask 
my colleagues to join me in saluting her--for her outstanding 
achievements, for her dedicated work, and for her charm and her 
delightful personality. I am very proud to have Mary as my friend.

                          ____________________