[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 28 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S1896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN HONOR OF THE PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS 2001 STATE 
                       HONOREES FOR PENNSYLVANIA

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I stand before you today to 
recognize two outstanding students from the great Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania. Ms. Lindsay Stewart of Windber and Mr. Alexander Gates of 
Palmyra have just been named State Honorees in The 2001 Prudential 
Spirit of Community Awards program. This program honors one high school 
student and one middle-level student in each state for outstanding acts 
of volunteerism. They were selected from nearly 23,000 who were 
considered for this year's program.
  Ms. Stewart was nominated by Forest Hills High School where she is a 
senior, for her creation of the ``Humanitarian Club.'' This club is 
dedicated to providing information about chemical brain disorders, and 
promoting tolerance of understanding of individuals who suffer from 
them. Inspired by an aunt afflicted with schizophrenia, Lindsay wanted 
to educate others about mental illnesses. During the past three years 
of her program, more than 300 people have experienced and learned from 
Lindsay's Humanitarian Club programs.
  Mr. Gates is an eighth grader at Palmyra Area Middle School, where he 
led an effort to erect a monument commemorating Palmyra-area veterans 
who were killed in wartime military service. Alexander's design 
included a six-foot obelisk inspired by his grandfather, who is a World 
War II veteran. He raised $8,250 to build the monument by selling 
granite bricks that would be inscribed with contributors' names and 
placed around the base of the memorial. Alexander included an 
inscription on the obelisk that reads, ``This monument honors the 
spirit of self-sacrifice which is necessary for the survival of a 
community. It honors those members of the community who paid the 
ultimate price so we can live in a free and just country.''
  I enthusiastically applaud Ms. Stewart and Mr. Gates for their 
initiative in seeking to make our communities better places to live, 
and for the positive impact they have had on the lives of others. It is 
at times like these, when I am given the opportunity to see the young 
people of our great nation make such a substantial difference, that I 
am so proud to be an American. Lindsay and Alexander have displayed 
great maturity, leadership, and most importantly, patriotism. With 
young people like them growing as leaders in our communities, we can be 
assured that the future of the United States is very bright. 

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