[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 119 (Thursday, September 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1616-E1617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF LARRY J. BURKS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 19, 2002

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a good 
friend and an outstanding citizen of Tyler, Texas--Larry J. Burks--who 
recently was honored by the Garden Club of America as the recipient of 
its prestigious award, the Jane Righter Rose Medal. A second generation 
rose grower/processor, Larry is known throughout the rose industry for 
his dedication to rose advocacy at the local, state and national 
levels. This medal is awarded for outstanding achievement in rose 
culture through the propagation of new

[[Page E1617]]

roses, development of community rose gardens of educational value, 
exhibitions by amateur gardeners, or unusual rose collections of 
special merit.
  This medal could not have been awarded to a more deserving person in 
the rose industry. Larry is a Board Member and the only two-term 
president of All America Rose Selections, Inc., and a Board Member of 
the Fund for the United States Botanic Garden. His efforts in the 1980s 
resulted in the rose's designation as the National Floral Emblem of the 
United States, and he was instrumental in the establishment of a 
National Rose Garden. Groundbreaking for this two-acre garden adjacent 
to the United States Botanic Garden took place in 2001. His leadership 
also was evident in raising the funds to remodel and reopen the 
National Botanical Garden on the National Mall.
  Larry serves as vice president of Certified Roses, Inc., of Tyler. 
This employee-owned corporation is the second largest processor of 
roses in North America, annually providing up to five and one-half 
million rose bushes of all varieties. His company is a constant force 
in producing new rose hybrids and new market development, and he 
assists both domestic and international hybridizers in plant evaluation 
and the naming and marketing of new roses. In recognition of his 
achievements, he has received several All America Rose Selections 
awards.
  Larry has been an active member of the American Rose Society and 
Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, and he is past president of 
the Texas Rose Research Foundation. He is also active in the Texas Rose 
Festival Association in Tyler, the Tyler Rose Museum, Order of the Rose 
and Texas Rose Society.
  With 2002 declared by Congress as the Year of the Rose, Larry will 
help carry forward this theme, and I can think of no one more devoted 
to this cause nor more deserving of our recognition and appreciation. 
Larry has helped raise our national awareness of the rose as an 
important symbol to our country. His work has benefitted our Nation's 
Capital, the State of Texas, and his hometown of Tyler. Mr. Speaker, I 
am so proud of the accomplishments of my dear friend, and I know that 
my colleagues join me today in congratulating him on this award--and 
expressing our Nation's gratitude for the work Larry Burks has done to 
promote this beautiful National flower and to encourage civic 
involvement in this worthy cause.

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