[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1539-E1540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         NAUGATUCK VALLEY TOWNS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES H. MALONEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 20, 2000

  Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring to the 
attention of the U.S. House of Representatives the noteworhty 
accomplishments of the lower Naugatuck Valley towns located in my 
congressional district in Connecticut. After being chosen as a finalist 
in the National Civic League's All-American City competition in 1999, 
the Naugatuck Valley's 2000 delegation sharpened its presentation and 
on June 3, 2000, was awarded the League's highest honor, that of an 
All-American City.
  The Naugatuck Valley is comprised of seven municipalities: Ansonia, 
Becon Falls, Derby, Naugatuck, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton. Delegates 
from each community traveled together to Louisville, Kentucky to 
compete for recognition as an All-American City. Started in 1894 by 
President Theodore Roosevelt and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis 
Brandeis, this award recognizes municipalities and regions where 
governments, citizens, businesses and volunteer organizations work 
together to address important local problems.
  Moving beyond its background as an old industrial area, the Valley's 
entry in the competition highlighted the region's recent initiatives to 
address its needs. The delegation presented a 10-minute skit touting 
the region's Alliance for Growth, a nonprofit development corporation 
that has attracted business to the Valley and has created jobs for its 
residents. The judges were also told about Project Co-N-N-E-C-T, an 
organization founded to asses the Valley's economic health. The skit 
recounted the achievements of the Valley in an effort to rebuild the 
local Boys and Girls Club after its destruction by a fire eight years 
ago. In that effort, the seven communities came together to raise $4.5 
million to obtain and renovate an old factory site for the youth 
organization.
  What most set the Naugatuck Valley apart from the other entrants was 
its sense of community and family. Valley residents have a long history 
of supporting each other and

[[Page E1540]]

working together to achieve a common goal--as evidenced by their win in 
Louisville. As only the second Connecticut locality ever to win the 
award, the delegation and residents of the Naugatuck Valley have 
demonstrated to the state of Connecticut and, indeed, the rest of the 
United States, that a dream of excellence can be achieved through hard 
work and dedication.
  The residents and delegates from the seven towns of the lower 
Naugatuck Valley should rightly feel immense satisfaction at this most 
significant accomplishment. As one of only ten regions or cities in the 
country to win the All-American City award this year, they have become 
part of an elite group of citizens whose concern for--and pride in--
their community has enabled great deeds to be accomplished.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and the rest of my colleagues join me in 
offering our sincere congratulations to the residents of the ``Mighty'' 
Naugatuck Valley of Connecticut for a job well done, and for setting an 
example for communities around our nation to follow.

                          ____________________