[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING MISS OLIVIA EVANS UPON RECEIVING THE SPIRIT OF WOMEN 
              FOUNDATION'S REGIONAL SPIRIT OF WOMEN AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM COOPER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2004

  Mr. COOPER. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take a few moments today to 
recognize an extraordinary young woman from Nashville, Olivia Evans.
  Olivia is 13 years old and was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes three 
years ago. Rather than allowing this disease to defeat her, Olivia has 
become a tireless advocate for diabetes research and the search for a 
cure. I first met Olivia in my Nashville office this spring and was 
impressed from the start by both her courage and charisma.
  I am proud to say that her advocacy has also recently won her wider 
recognition. Olivia was just named the winner of the Spirit of Women 
Foundation's regional youth Spirit of Women Award for her work on 
behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. This award is 
generally reserved for young women aged 14 and older, which makes 
Olivia's achievement all the more remarkable. In addition, Olivia was 
one of only two Tennessee delegates to the 2003 Juvenile Diabetes 
Research Foundation Children's Congress, which came to Washington to 
raise awareness about diabetes research among national policymakers.
  Type I diabetes currently afflicts 1.3 million Americans, and there 
are 13,000 new diagnoses of juvenile diabetes every year. Olivia is 
fighting hard to educate all of us on the importance of funding 
research and finding a cure. The sooner we find a solution, the sooner 
we can ensure that Olivia will grow to lead a life that is unburdened 
by the complications of diabetes.
  I applaud the Spirit of Women Foundation for recognizing this 
remarkable young woman, and I congratulate Olivia on her achievement. I 
call on my colleagues to further honor Olivia and the thousands of 
American children like her who live with diabetes by supporting all 
efforts to find a cure now.

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