[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 88 (Monday, June 16, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING VOLUNTEER AND JEFFERSON AWARD RECIPIENT LEANNA RICHARD 
                                 ALFRED

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRISTOPHER JOHN

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 16, 2003

  Mr. JOHN. Mr. Speaker, many people serve the needs of their 
community, not searching for public recognition. Their reward is the 
knowledge that those in need have been helped. Mrs. Leanna Richard 
Alfred of Lafayette, Louisiana is one such individual.
  Friends and colleagues have described her as a terrific role model 
with a warm smile and a loving personality--a motherly figure, always 
prepared to lend a helping hand to those in need.
  Mrs. Alfred is being honored this week in Washington, DC with the 
distinguished Jefferson Award. Given by the American Institute for 
Public Service, this national award is granted to ``ordinary people who 
do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or award.''
  Through a partnership with local media sponsor KLFY-TV in Lafayette, 
Louisiana, Mrs. Alfred's efforts were brought to the Institute's 
attention. This award is not the first for Mrs. Alfred, but it is a 
very special honor. In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert 
Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard founded the American Institute for Public 
Service to establish a Nobel Prize for public and community service.
  Mrs. Alfred's work is directed toward children in our community. She 
sponsors several annual events--fashion shows, a Christmas Ball, and 
basketball tournaments--to offer African-American children in the area 
avenues to showcase their unique talents. Her events often provide 
scholarships for area youngsters to advance their education, as well as 
trophies and certificates of achievement. Her motto is ``Making a 
Difference,'' and that is just what she does on a daily basis.
  I congratulate Mrs. Leanna Richard Alfred for her dedication to 
making our community an area in which young people can strive, succeed, 
and know that they are cherished.

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