[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 140 (Monday, October 30, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11369-S11371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       35TH ANNIVERSARY OF VISTA

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I am very proud that VISTA is 
celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary this year. VISTA is special 
for me because it was my work in VISTA that brought me to West Virginia 
and changed the course of my career.
  Because of my work in Emmons, WV, as a VISTA worker, I decided to 
make West Virginia my home and public service in government my life. In 
Emmons, I worked for a community center, preventative health care, and 
fought to get a school bus so those teens would get a high school 
education. From the grassroots, I learned how government can improve 
the quality of life in a community. I pursued a career in government, 
beginning with a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. My work 
in Emmons was very meaningful, and it changed me. I have stayed in 
touch with the people of Emmons and joined them this summer to 
celebrate the community finally getting clean water.
  I have also stayed in touch with VISTA and was delighted to 
participate in the VISTA anniversary events, as many former VISTA 
workers did.
  Mr. President, I ask to print in the Record, the remarks of John E. 
Gherty, president and CEO of Land O' Lakes, Inc., and more importantly 
a former VISTA worker. His remarks outline the history of VISTA and 
capture its vision for the future.
  The remarks follows:
                                                  October 13, 2000
       Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to be 
     with you to celebrate the 35th anniversary of VISTA--now a 
     proud part of AmeriCorps.
       I wanted to participate in this celebration for a couple of 
     very important and very personal reasons.
       First, because I truly believe in the principles behind 
     VISTA and AmeriCorps. I take considerable pride in the 
     program's 35 years of accomplishment--and in my own 
     participation some 32 years ago. I'll tell you more about 
     that in just a few minutes.
       My second reason for being here is even more personal. It's 
     because the youngest of my three daughters, ten-year-old 
     Katherine, told me it was important for me to be here. Let me 
     explain.
       Originally, I thought I might be addressing this group on 
     the weekend, and that I might bring Katherine with me. One 
     evening about six weeks ago, I got home somewhat late and 
     went up to her room to say goodnight. It seemed like the 
     right time to ask her if she would like to take a trip to 
     Washington, DC.
       Like most ten-year-olds, she responded with a question of 
     her own. ``What for?''
       I told her I was considering speaking to a group called 
     AmeriCorps, which was the successor to VISTA.
       Her response--and you parents will understand this, was 
     another question of her own--``What's AmeriCorps or VISTA 
     do?'' I told her it was an organization formed to help people 
     in need in the United States--and that it dealt with issues 
     like poverty, hunger, health care and housing.
       Her eyes lit up with understanding, and without hesitation, 
     she said ``Dad, you should go.''
       I tell you this story because I believe Katherine's almost 
     instant understanding serves to reinforce the fundamental 
     importance and value of what each of you has accomplished or 
     is committed to accomplishing as VISTA alumni and AmeriCorps 
     participants.
       This afternoon's program brings together a unique mix of 
     new AmeriCorps/VISTA participants and VISTA alumni.
       As one of those alumni, I have a message for all of the new 
     participants. What you accomplish during today's working 
     sessions, and the work you put in during the coming year, 
     will make a difference.
       It will make a difference not just in the lives of those 
     who benefit from the services you develop and provide--but in 
     your lives as well.
       That, in fact, is what this three-day celebration is all 
     about . . . recognizing the ongoing difference VISTA has made 
     in the lives of the millions of people who have been served 
     by its programs, as well as in the lives of the 130,000 VISTA 
     alumni who delivered those programs.
       Let me take just a few minutes to reflect on my own VISTA 
     experience.
       I remember when President Kennedy announced the formation 
     of the Peace Corps back in 1962. I was a student at the 
     University of Wisconsin . . . an institution rightfully known 
     for the quality of its education and the strength of its 
     activism.
       I recall being impressed with the concept of the Peace 
     Corps, and being convinced it was something I wanted to do 
     once I finished school. After graduating from business school 
     and entering law school, I was even more convinced that 
     public service was not only a personal opportunity, but--
     quite simply--just the right thing to do.
       It was at about that time that VISTA--then referred to as 
     ``The Domestic Peace Corps''--was formed.
       When I completed law school, I sought out public service 
     opportunities and was offered the chance to serve with the 
     Peace Corps in Ethiopia or Botswana. I felt very strongly, on 
     a personal level, about the importance of giving a priority 
     to addressing our needs here at home. So, I focused my 
     energies on becoming part of VISTA.
       I soon found myself--fresh out of law school at the 
     University of Wisconsin and not really that far removed from 
     my family's Western Wisconsin farm--on my way to Chicago to 
     work out of the Henry Booth House, which was part of Hull 
     House, in the lckes public housing development on 
     Chicago's South Side.
       How much of a culture shock was that? For those of you who 
     aren't familiar with the South Side of Chicago, Folk singer 
     Jim Croce--in his song ``Bad Bad LeRoy Brown''--referred to 
     the area as ``the baddest part of town.''
       On the surface, that was a pretty apt description. It was a 
     tough, poverty-stricken, inner-city neighborhood, where Black 
     Power was an influential and powerful force--and for good 
     reason.
       It was a pretty challenging environment for a fresh-out-of-
     school, Caucasian, farm-

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     kid from Wisconsin. I can tell you truthfully that there was 
     considerable community skepticism regarding my intentions and 
     my motives.
       As you can imagine, my VISTA involvement proved to be a 
     truly eye-opening experience.
       It was also tremendously rewarding, knowing that I was 
     contributing to the future of what I came to think of as my 
     South Side community--that I was helping to establish 
     programs and services that would continue to benefit the 
     neighborhood after I was gone.
       It was also a significant learning experience. In fact, I 
     am absolutely convinced that my personal VISTA ``take-aways'' 
     matched, and probably even exceeded, what I gave to the 
     program.
       When I think about what I learned during my VISTA 
     involvement, five things come to mind almost immediately:
       The absolute importance of taking responsibility and 
     creating opportunity;
       The essential role of teamwork and team building;
       The importance of building effective alliances;
       The strength that can be found in diversity; and
       The need to identify leaders and build leadership skills.
       These were critical elements in my ability to fulfill my 
     role with VISTA ... and over the years I have found them to 
     be the critical building blocks for success, no matter what 
     the endeavor or organization.
       Let's look at these five concepts--starting with the 
     importance of taking responsibility and creating opportunity.
       My VISTA involvement taught me that, to truly succeed, you 
     must take personal responsibility for getting the job done. I 
     saw the importance of sizing up the issues and--in an 
     environment where there were not a lot of rules or precedents 
     to follow--taking the initiative in ways that made a 
     difference.
       My participation in VISTA also taught me that long-term 
     success depends on the ability to create opportunity. The 
     success of VISTA programming is not based on ``hands-outs,'' 
     it's based on creating opportunities for people to better 
     themselves.
       I can guarantee--from personal experience on Chicago's 
     South Side--that given the opportunity to succeed, and even 
     the slightest bit of sincere encouragement, people will take 
     advantage of it.
       For example, when I arrived at the Ickes public housing 
     development back in 1968, food prices and food quality were 
     significant issues. Poverty and mobility limited residents' 
     choices.
       Working with community residents, we formed a volunteer-led 
     food buying club focused on bringing higher-quality, fairly 
     priced groceries into the neighborhood.
       Very quickly we had a crew of volunteers in each building 
     taking weekly grocery orders from fellow residents and 
     additional volunteers turning their apartments into food 
     distribution centers.
       We were able to leverage our volunteer force and our 
     increased buying power to make higher-quality groceries 
     available at better prices. Just as important, perhaps, the 
     residents had a new sense of self-esteem--of knowing they 
     could take control--that they could have a say in community 
     quality of life.
       The program gave them the opportunity to succeed and they 
     took advantage of it.
       VISTA also gave me new insight into the importance of 
     teamwork and team building. I learned that one of the first 
     elements in being successful at anything is to recognize that 
     you simply cannot do it all alone.
       In VISTA, I quickly recognized the importance of going out 
     into the community and identifying the team players--those 
     with the skills, the commitment and the spirit to get the job 
     done--and getting them on your team.
       I also learned a great deal about the importance of 
     building effective alliances--and that sometimes you find 
     strong allies where you least expect them.
       Going back to the issue of food quality and prices. There 
     was a particular grocery chain which was taking advantage of 
     its location and the limited resources of neighborhood 
     residents. High prices and very poor quality meat and produce 
     were the rule--not the exception.
       In our wisdom--or perhaps our ignorance--our VISTA team 
     decided to organize a picket line at the store to bring 
     attention to its shortcomings. It was a tense situation, and 
     we actually feared for our safety and that of the residents 
     who were supporting us.
       At that same time, a gang called The Blackstone Rangers--
     known for years as an intimidating ``take no prisoners'' 
     organization--was making a real effort to change their image. 
     The most outward signs of that effort were their donning of 
     distinctive red berets and the changing of their name to the 
     Peacestone Rangers.
       Well, they decided to make our cause their cause--and with 
     these allies on the picket line, the balance of power shifted 
     in the community's favor.
       My VISTA involvement also taught me the strength that can 
     be found in diversity. I learned that by bringing together 
     people of different cultures, different viewpoints and 
     different skills in pursuit of common goals, you can being 
     even greater force to bear on those goals.
       I also learned that when you are getting your hands dirty 
     in pursuant of a common goal, people very quickly forget 
     whether you are white, black, young or old, from the farm or 
     the city.
       Once you roll up your sleeves and get down to the task at 
     hand--diversity is not a problem, it is a powerful problem-
     solving tool.
       Finally, VISTA taught me a lot about leadership. I'm not 
     talking just about how to best exercise my own leadership 
     role--but also about identifying existing and potential 
     leaders and building leadership skills in the community.
       I learned that to succeed, you must drive leadership skills 
     throughout the organization--and you must give those new 
     leaders responsibility and authority.
       Believe me, I met lots of strong, effective leaders on 
     Chicago's South Side. Some were single mothers with babies 
     balanced on their hips, others were experienced organizers 
     from the Reverend Jesse Jackson's Operation Breadbasket, 
     and still others were elderly couples who had lived their 
     entire lives in a neighborhood they refused to give up on. 
     Yes, and some were even wearing the red berets of the 
     Peacestone Rangers.
       They were all different, but they all shared a vision, and 
     an ability to motivate others in pursuit of that vision. They 
     were true leaders--and our team of VISTA volunteers would 
     have accomplished very little without them.
       Were these important lessons?
       I think all the VISTA participants from the past 35 years 
     would agree that the lessons they learned in VISTA--the 
     insight they gained and the skills they honed while serving 
     the community--helped prepare them for success, no matter 
     what course their lives took.
       To this day--more than 30 years later--my own service with 
     VISTA continues to have an impact on my life and my career.
       I continue to believe with a passion that corporate social 
     responsibility is absolutely non-negotiable. No matter what 
     business you are in--the recognition of corporate social 
     responsibility must be part of your core values and an 
     essential element in your organizational vision.
       And, I'm not just talking about corporate and foundation 
     giving--or the encouragement of community service and 
     volunteerism. I'm also talking about the way you treat 
     employees, customers and owners; the ethics and values you 
     bring to your business practices; the respect you show for 
     the environment.
       That's why, at the company I work for today--Land O'Lakes--
     we have included being our customers' first choice; our 
     employees' first choice; responsible to our owners; and a 
     leader in our communities as critical elements in our vision 
     of being one of the best food and agricultural companies in 
     the world.
       Our extended vision statement states clearly that--We 
     recognize our responsibilities to the communities in which we 
     operate. And that we will be proactive in dedicating 
     resources to build a better quality of life, operate in an 
     ethical and environmentally sensitive manner and live by our 
     values.
       What about our internal community--our employees? Again, in 
     our vision, we state clearly that ``We believe in respecting 
     diversity and in encouraging teamwork, involvement, 
     development and empowerment of all employees.
       What does all this sound like? It sounds very much like my 
     personal takeaways from VISTA--taking responsibility; 
     creating opportunity; building teams, teamwork and effective 
     alliances; and developing leaders and leadership.
       In just a few minutes, you are going to break into work 
     groups and tackle the task of developing Pilot AmeriCorps 
     VISTA projects for 2001 and beyond.
       I urge you to be aggressive and ambitious in those 
     deliberations. To recognize that, in a time of what many call 
     unprecedented prosperity--there is still significant poverty 
     in America. In fact, approximately 32 million Americans--one 
     in nine--live on incomes below the poverty level.
       I believe today's combination of prosperity and poverty 
     makes each and every American's social responsibility even 
     more demanding.
       We must ask ourselves, in a nation as prosperous as ours:
       Why do children still go to school hungry?
       Why are so many still homeless?
       Why are so many citizens isolated from health care by 
     economics or geography?
       Why is quality education or training still out of the reach 
     of so many individuals desperately trying to better 
     themselves?
       In short, we must ask ourselves the tough questions--and 
     then come up with the right answers--the programs it will 
     take to address these issues--the programs that will close 
     the gap between prosperity and poverty.
       No one is going to do it for us. We must each take this 
     responsibility, first as individuals and then as part of 
     larger communities and organizations. But then again, that's 
     why you are all here--because you are willing to take that 
     responsibility, to act in ways that can truly make a 
     difference.
       I applaud that willingness and, seeing the spirit in this 
     room, I am confident what you are doing will make a 
     significant difference in communities across America.
       Since we are meeting in our nation's Capitol, I'd like to 
     close my remarks with a comment from a speech by former 
     President Woodrow Wilson.
       ``You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in 
     order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater 
     vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.

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       You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish 
     yourself if you forget this errand.''
       As VISTA celebrates 35 years of service, and embarks on 
     year 36 as AmeriCorps VISTA, it is clear to me that the 
     program and its people remain clearly focused on that task--
     on enabling the world to live more amply, developing a 
     greater vision for all and generating a finer spirit of hope 
     in communities across our nation.
       Ultimately, the lives of each of you--and of the people you 
     touch--will all be richer for it. I can guarantee it--and my 
     daughter Katherine would agree.

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