[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2222-E2223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING BOBBIE HOUSEHOLDER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 15, 2000

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize an outstanding citizen of East Tennessee, Mrs. Bobbie 
Householder. She has recently been given the 2001 Pride of Tennessee 
Award, an award presented annually to a person with a history of 
dedication to the community of Blount County.
  Mr. Speaker, I can think of no better person this could be awarded to 
than Bobbie Householder. She worked for the Blount County Chamber of 
Commerce for 33 years, but her service to the people in her community 
did not end there. Since her retirement, Bobbie has served as President 
of the Friends of the Library. In addition, she is also a member of the 
Keep Blount Beautiful Board and a member of the Blount County 
Bicentennial Committee, just to name a few. I commend Mrs. Householder 
for her dedication and tireless work for the community in Blount 
County. This Country would be a better place if there were more people 
like Bobbie Householder.
  Mr. Speaker, I have included a copy of a story that ran in the Daily 
Times that honors Mrs. Householder and would like to call it to the 
attention of my fellow colleagues and other readers of the Record.

                  [From The Daily Times, Dec. 5, 2000]

     Bobbie Householder's Work as Volunteer is Unequaled in Blount

       No one individual's life is as entwined in the history of 
     the Blount County Chamber of Commerce as that of Barbara Ann 
     ``Bobbie'' Householder and few, if any, have been as involved 
     in the community.
       As most of you know, Bobbie is the recipient of the 2001 
     Pride of Tennessee Award presented annually by Blount County 
     Executive Bill Crisp to someone who has a history of 
     community involvement and always has been willing to work for 
     a better place for all of us to live and work. Bobbie and 
     husband Glen, married for 53 years, have three offspring. 
     Glenda Eastridge is a teacher at Lanier Elementary; Alan, the 
     outdoors man, works at Southern Safari in Asheville, N.C., 
     has hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and 
     the Mountain to Sea Trail from Newfound Gap to the Outer 
     Banks in North Carolina, as well as across England; and Gary, 
     a retired Army lieutenant colonel who lives in Louisville, 
     KY. They have four grandchildren, Cindy and Brain Householder 
     in Louisville and Jeff and Amy Eastridge in Alcoa. A native 
     of Knoxville, Bobbie moved to Blount County in 1952,
       For many years the chamber staff consisted of the executive 
     director, bookkeeper, and Bobbie who was the jack of all 
     trade, doing office responsibilities plus coordinating 
     chamber projects. For 25 years she was responsible for the 
     United Way campaigns, just part of her responsibilities. In 
     the end the ``umbrella'' administrative office included the 
     Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Blount County Industrial 
     Board, Chamber Foundation, and the Smoky Mountain Visitors 
     Bureau. She served as vice president of all except the 
     industrial board. Bobbie worked with five executives, Bob 
     Lamb, Wilson Borden, Ken Faulkner, Jim Caldwell and then 
     almost 18 years with Bill Dunavant. During that time she 
     worked with 34 chamber presidents from J.P. Huddleson in 1961 
     through the first part of the term of Brad Sayles in 1994.
       When she began work, the office was in Maryville Municipal 
     Building, then it moved to come out on a Thursday. Then, on 
     Sunday, I read an article about ``how the officers involved 
     had been affected by this,'' McConnell said. ``I called the 
     sheriff Sunday afternoon and told him about our idea. He 
     jumped on it. He said he never wanted to cover another case 
     like the one in Townsend.'' Sheriff James L. Berrong took the 
     ``safe place'' idea to Attorney General Mike Flynn. A week 
     later, more than a dozen people sat down to talk about 
     changing the idea into reality. Those at the meeting 
     included: State Sen. Bill Clabough; Representative-elect Doug 
     Overbey; Blount County Health Department director and former 
     pediatrician Dr. Ken Marmon; June Love of the Blount County 
     Department of Children's Services; Lynnelle Hammett and 
     Barbara Collins of Child and Family Services; Adina Chumley, 
     public information officer for the sheriff's department and 
     the adoptive mother of two; Knox County District Attorney 
     Randy Nichols; Smid of Hope Resource Center; Flynn, the 
     father of a son and daughter; Berrong, the father of a son 
     and daughter; McConnell and Yount.


                         Saving Babies, mothers

       Nichols agree to write the first draft of the proposed 
     legislation using laws from other states as examples. 
     Clabough has agreed to introduce a Secret Safe Place law for 
     Tennessee when the legislature convenes in January. ``I can't 
     imagine a valid reason it would not pass,'' McConnell said. 
     The group discussed the pros and cons of making it possible 
     for a mother to surrender her baby without being identified 
     and without fear of being prosecuted. McConnell and Yount 
     shared the facts and figures they gathered last spring with 
     additional information they collected in the fall.
       Alabama was apparently the first to start working on 
     legislation making a ``Secret Safe Place for Newborns'' 
     possible. The idea was sparked there by a reporter ``Jody 
     Brooks'' after she covered two cases of babies abandoned and 
     later found dead. Texas was the first state to actually pass 
     legislation to protect mothers who surrender their babies 
     from prosecution and provide them with a way to remain 
     anonymous. The law was passed there after 13 dead babies were 
     discovered in just
       McConnell and Yount have also spoken with Terry Little, 
     director of the emergency room at Springhill Memorial 
     Hospital in Mobile, Ala., where Little accepted the first 
     baby surrendered after the legislation passed. Little told 
     the Maryville women since the law provides surrender at 
     hospitals, even the cleaning staff has been trained in how to 
     handle those situations.
       Yount said Blount Memorial Hospital has been contacted and 
     will be represented in future meetings about the program.
       McConnell said they also discussed how to help frightened 
     young girls unable to get to a hospital without asking 
     someone to drive them. A private hot line is proposed which 
     would allow someone to call and report the location where a 
     baby would be left, allowing an officer to pick up the 
     newborn.
       Yount said babies being surrendered must be unharmed and 
     released within 72 hours of birth. However, she said there is 
     a period in which the mother may change her mind and reclaim 
     her child. The mother is also asked to provide a family 
     medical history since many diseases are hereditary, but she 
     is not required to do so.


                         Infant needs important

       She said babies in Mobile go immediately to adoptive 
     parents to allow them to bond with someone as soon as 
     possible.
       Marmon said bonding is important to every child's well-
     being and must be considered carefully as the Tennessee law 
     is being written.
        Flynn said it might be possible to have couples seeking 
     adoption qualified as foster parents so the baby could be 
     placed with them immediately while the necessary paperwork is 
     done to legally end the parental rights of the birth mother 
     and father.
       McConnell said in some states, those in the adoption 
     community have expressed concern over the possibility of 
     ``unstable adoptions'' of abandoned babies. ``I don't see it 
     affecting traditional adoptions,'' McConnell said. ``Which is 
     worse'' an adoption that might not work out or a dead baby? 
     Our concern is the rights of each child.''
       Some were concerned the law might relieve young women of 
     responsibility for their actions, but McConnell and Yount 
     said they believe caring for a baby by giving it up for 
     adoption is a responsible option already available.
       Others were concerned the new law might cause an epidemic 
     of newborns being surrendered. However, there have only been 
     five surrendered newborns in Alabama since the law took 
     effect in 1996. More importantly, there have been no babies 
     found abandoned and dead in Alabama or Texas since the laws 
     were passed in the two states. ``This is a tiny target group 
     the law will affect,'' McConnell said. ``Most pregnancies are 
     found out by someone. It's those few who manage to keep it a 
     secret throughout the pregnancy who may abandon the baby when 
     it's born. ``Babies shouldn't be hidden in sheds or dumpsters 
     or under a bed, somewhere they will die.''


                         Mothers are anonymous

       Yount stresses the importance of allowing the mother 
     surrendering a baby to remain anonymous. ``This is a major 
     issue,'' McConnell said.
       She explained there is a fine line parents try to walk, to 
     pressure their children to live up to their expectations as 
     far as behavior but let them know they can come to a parent 
     if they make a even a serious mistake. She said young girls 
     who
       She helped establish and coordinated Homecoming '86 for 
     Blount County, including a parade and an all-day celebration 
     in Greenbelt Park, coordinated the dedication of the Fort 
     Craig spring monument, as well as the Adopt A School program, 
     Leadership Blount, and Keep Blount Beautiful. Bobbie was 
     responsible for staffing the Smoky Mountain Visitors Bureau 
     visitors center, advertising in national magazines, 
     represented the organization at travel shows and worked with 
     area tourism groups, kept the visitors centers supplied with 
     brochures, and coordinated the Weekend in the Smokies which 
     was sponsored by the chamber.
       She was responsible for the Dogwood Arts Festival from its 
     organization in 1979 through its first festival in 1980, an 
     event

[[Page E2223]]

     sponsored by the Blount Chamber Foundation. She was 
     responsible for starting Dogwood Drives in 1983 and others 
     that followed with the exception of the East Maryville, added 
     since she retired, and the Teacher Mini-grant program. The 
     last five years or so her title was Vice President of 
     Community Development for the Chamber and she worked with all 
     programs involving many community activities as well as other 
     organizations.
       While working, Bobbie spent many extra hours on the job 
     because of her devotion to the community. And since 
     retirement she has continued to be active. She has served as 
     President of the Friends of the Library, a member of the Keep 
     Blount Beautiful Board, member of the Blount County 
     Bicentennial Committee and was responsible for a parade for 
     an all-day celebration. She is currently serving as treasurer 
     of Blount County Education Foundation and prior to that 
     served two years as secretary for the Foundation. For four 
     years she has served as chair of Day of Caring for United Way 
     and presently serves as Communications Coordinator for the 
     Holston Conference United Methodist Women. She is a member of 
     Broadway Methodist Church.
       She is serving as co-chairman of the Blount County 
     Millennium Committee with activities coordinated with 
     community organizations with a different focus on each month. 
     Members of the committee designed an official Blount County 
     flag which is available for sale in the county executive's 
     office. The Adopt A School sponsors have purchased a flag for 
     their school. This flag is really visible at the Blount 
     County Justice Center.
       Along with Bryan Cable, she leads a hike in the Smokies for 
     the Dogwood Arts Festival. Previous winners include 2000--
     Tutt S. Bradford, 1999--Carmian ``Connie'' Davis, 1998--
     Stanley B. ``Skeeter'' Shields, 1997--Judson B. Murphy, 
     1996--Garland DeLozier, 1995--Stone Carr, 1994--Dean Stone, 
     and 1993--Elsie Burrell.
       The Volunteer State didn't get its nickname by accident. 
     Its volunteers accomplish much of the work needed in 
     communities across the state. Certainly none has done more 
     than Bobbie who continued her volunteer efforts throughout 
     major illness and surgery from which she has recovered.
       Our hats are off to Bobbie and her outstanding example of 
     volunteer work in Blount County, building a better community!
       Our voice.
       On Pride of Tennessee.

       

                          ____________________