[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 63 (Friday, May 7, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING REBECCA GALLOWAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES R. LANGEVIN

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Rebecca 
Galloway for winning the Reading Is Fundamental National Poster 
Contest. In this back-to-school reading-motivation contest, Rebecca 
competed with more than 500 other entries nationwide. The poster she 
created, depicting a child reading a book with the sun, earth and stars 
in the background, took the top honors in this contest.
  Ms. Galloway is a 10-year-old student from Warwick, Rhode Island. She 
is in the 5th grade at the Warwick Neck Elementary School. Rebecca 
enjoys reading in bed with her mother at night and they are both fans 
of the Nancy Drew Mystery series. Rebecca and her family understand how 
important reading is for children and they take advantage of the 
opportunities that books create for them daily. Rebecca hopes her 
poster will encourage other children to take advantage of these same 
opportunities.
  Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is a nationwide non-profit group that 
aims to ensure that all children have access to free books. RIF 
encourages children, especially those most at-risk, to take home and 
keep the books they distribute. In partnership with the U.S. Department 
of Education and Nestle, RIF distributed 16.5 million new books in 2003 
to children throughout the country. RIF also supports various programs 
to encourage reading, such as the poster contest.
  Ms. Galloway will receive a gift certificate to purchase books, a 
laptop computer, a basket of Nestle products, and a $1000 U.S. Savings 
Bond for winning the poster contest. She will also attend a special 
awards ceremony and her school will receive funds to purchase books for 
their library. In this day and age with so many forms of media 
competing for our children's attention, it is important that we 
encourage them to turn toward the infinite possibilities offered by 
books. Once again, I congratulate Rebecca Galloway for her award-
winning poster and thank the Reading Is Fundamental organization for 
the work they do for the young minds of America.

                          ____________________