[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MARY ANN SOLBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my friend Mary Ann 
Solberg of Troy, Michigan for her outstanding commitment to public 
service. On October 23, 2002, Leadership Troy will name her this year's 
Distinguished Citizen.
  Mary Ann Solberg has become the leader in community anti-drug 
coalitions, not only in Michigan, but throughout the country. She 
served as Executive Director of the Troy Community Coalition for twelve 
years and also created and served as Executive Director of the 
Coalition of Healthy Communities--a consortium of community anti-drug 
coalitions in Michigan. Earlier this year, she was sworn in as Deputy 
Director for the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
  During Mary Ann's tenure as Executive Director, the Troy Coalition 
grew from a group of concerned community members meeting around a 
kitchen table into one of the most respected anti-drug coalitions in 
the country--earning the ``Best Coalition'' designation from the 
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America in 1997.
  Troy has become a model to other communities hoping to duplicate 
their success. Mary Ann traveled extensively as a lecturer and 
consultant helping communities from prevention coalitions and providing 
technical assistance to community's partnerships and coalitions. She 
also served as an advisor to the Department of Health and Human 
Services' Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and as a member of the 
Board of Directors of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. 
President Clinton named her to serve on the Advisory Commission on Drug 
Free Communities, where she was elected by her peers as President of 
that Commission.
  Mary Ann Solberg is an example of what makes the Troy community so 
strong. She has a tireless commitment to changing attitudes about drug 
and alcohol use and fighting abuse, especially by our youth. She has a 
passion for grassroots activism and a warmth of character that draws 
people to her and her causes. I am privileged to call her a friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mary Ann 
Solberg as she deservingly receives this year's Distinguished Citizen 
Award from Leadership Troy for all she has done for prevention and to 
strengthen the fabric of our community.

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