[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     ``CAN DO'' SPIRIT CONTINUES AS 45-YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 12, 2001

  Mr. KANJORSKI Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to the Community Area New Development Organization Inc. of Greater 
Hazleton, Pennsylvania, better known as CAN DO, on its 45th 
anniversary.
  CAN DO is truly a remarkable organization. It was formed in 1956, in 
a moment of dire economic crisis for the Greater Hazleton area. The 
area's main industry, anthracite coal mining, was already in rapid 
decline when Hurricane Diane struck in 1955 and dumped several feet of 
water on the area. This killed most of the area's coal industry by 
flooding the deep mines and causing more than half of the remaining 
coal workers to be laid off. Unemployment reached almost 23 percent and 
stayed there.
  A group of local civic and business leaders decided to take action. 
Working with the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, and led by 
respected physician Dr. Edgar L. Dessen, they formed CAN DO to attract 
new and diverse industries.
  To purchase land they could market to new businesses, they tapped the 
generosity of the community, beginning with the Dime-A-Week campaign 
under which workers contributed $5.20 a year, and the Mile of Dimes 
campaign, in which residents showed their support by taping dimes along 
Broad Street--Hazleton's main thoroughfare.
  After purchasing land, the next step was to construct shell 
buildings, pre-built to be ready for new industry. CAN DO's organizers 
defied doubters who said the group would never be able to raise a half-
million dollars in financially strapped Greater Hazleton. They raised 
more than $700,000.
  Over the years, CAN DO has built on that initial success, guided by a 
series of dedicated community-minded citizens such as Dr. Dessen and 
others too numerous to list here from the founding era to the current 
leadership, including Chairman Joseph M. DeBias and President W. Kevin 
O'Donnell. CAN DO has grown from a grass-roots effort to a nationally 
recognized, award-winning leader in the economic development field.
  Its achievements include amassing more than 270 industrial and office 
projects, more than 21 million square feet of buildings worth more than 
$534 million, almost $1.5 billion in private investment, more than $5 
million in taxes generated for local municipalities and school 
districts, more than $275 million in annual payroll, and more than 
11,000 current jobs.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to call to the attention of the House of 
Representatives the many accomplishments that have flowed from the 
``CAN DO'' spirit of the founders of the Community Area New Development 
Organization, which is still reflected in its volunteers and staff 
today. As the U.S. Representative for the Greater Hazleton community, I 
am privileged to work with such a dedicated organization, and I wish 
them and the community continued success in the future.

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