[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 166 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2306-E2307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  COMMENDING STUDENTS IN FREE ENTERPRISE 2003 WORLD CUP CHAMPION TEAM 
                         FROM DRURY UNIVERSITY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 17, 2003

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Students In Free 
Enterprise (SIFE) 2003 World Cup Champion Team from Drury University in 
Springfield, Missouri. These exceptional university students 
demonstrated on an international stage what it means to practice free 
enterprise with common sense in a socially and ethically responsible 
manner. Drury University's SIFE team

[[Page E2307]]

prepared both a live presentation and a written report of their 
activities over the past year and competed against students from 30 
countries to receive this prestigious award. A panel of 18 
international business leaders, including representatives from KPMG, 
Wal-Mart, Sara Lee and Pepsi-Co, named Drury University's SIFE Team 
World Cup Champions for the second time in three years.
  SIFE students are making a positive impact in their community and 
beyond, through service projects that teach entrepreneurship, market 
economics, ethics and financial responsibility to struggling business 
owners, school children and economically disadvantaged individuals. By 
applying the concepts they are learning in the classroom to everyday 
life, they are taking the guesswork out of economic theory.
  Drury University's SIFE team worked on a number of projects over the 
past year, helping high school students develop a t-shirt company that 
is self-sustaining and student-run. The Drury team also established an 
entrepreneurial camp to teach young people in southwest Missouri's 
growing Hispanic communities the entrepreneurial skills needed to 
develop their own businesses.
  Drury University SIFE team volunteered more than 5,000 hours of 
service to their community last year. The students at Drury, however, 
are not alone. SIFE teams around the world engaged in hundreds of 
thousands of hours of community service, impacting millions of people. 
Too often, the energy and idealism of our youth are never fully 
utilized. In SIFE, young people are given an opportunity to contribute 
meaningfully to their society. It is encouraging to see bright, 
passionate college and university students work to ``change the world'' 
with a common sense approach that stimulates economic empowerment.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the achievements of Alvin Rohrs, the President 
and CEO of Students In Free Enterprise, and his team of co-workers at 
the SIFE World Headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. His leadership 
has enabled SIFE to plant the seeds of free enterprise on campuses 
across our nation and around the world. Mr. Rohrs and his team work 
tirelessly to ensure the principles of free enterprise are firmly 
rooted in the hearts and minds of college and university students on 
more than 1,500 campuses worldwide. By encouraging social 
entrepreneurship among SIFE students, Mr. Rohrs and his staff have 
fostered real change in countries around the globe. In Ghana, SIFE 
teams taught impoverished villagers how to make and market soap from 
locally available resources. For the first time in that community, 
money now changes hands, and the people who live there have a source of 
income. Alvin Rohrs and his team are also supporting programs in places 
where free enterprise education is rare. In China, a SIFE team is 
helping managers of a state-owned enterprise privatize the business and 
develop a plan for success in the face of an emerging market economy.
  The success of SIFE has been well documented by both the national and 
international business community. Business and industry leaders 
frequently participate in SIFE competitions, judging SIFE teams and 
scouting future business leaders. They see and understand the 
importance of SIFE to the economic future of our nation and our world, 
as we all learn to compete in a global market that emphasizes education 
and communication.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the students from Drury 
University's SIFE team. These students may be completing their studies 
on a small campus in southwest Missouri, but they are making a 
difference. Along with their peers in 37 countries, these young people 
are changing the world, one person, one community and one project at a 
time.

                          ____________________