[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 82 (Tuesday, June 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1125-E1126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF EDIE KARAS, COMMUNITY STALWART

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 2004

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of my dear friend Edie 
Karas, one of the most dedicated and energetic community members in my 
Central California district, and indeed the nation and the world. A 
life-long resident of the Monterey Peninsula, Edie has played an active 
and vital role in countless civic organizations. Along with her late 
husband of more than 50 years, the former Monterey County Supervisor 
Sam Karas, Edie made up half a dynamic duo of public service. Since Sam 
passed away in 2003, Edie has carried on with that tradition of service 
to both her neighbors next door and her neighbors around the world.

[[Page E1126]]

  A short account of Edie's service would include the time that Edie 
has donated to the Monterey Civic Club, Monterey Recreation Committee, 
Robinson Jeffers' Tor House, Alliance on Aging, Monterey Bay Symphony, 
State Theatre Preservation Society, and the list goes on. In addition, 
several years ago, Edie and her late husband, the former County 
Supervisor Sam Karas, traveled to Bosnia where they served as 
international election observers.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to celebrate Edie's work on behalf of the 
Big Sur Health Center, which will recognize her service in a tribute on 
June 18, 2004. I became involved with the clinic in the late '70's as a 
member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. At that time the 
Big Sur Clinic had more certified EMTs per capita than any place in the 
U.S. and provided free emergency services and an ambulance maintained 
by the Red Cross. Today the Health Center serves many of the outpatient 
health needs of the rural Big Sur community in a modest facility made 
up of two 35 year old portable trailers and a treasury of heart, soul, 
and dedication supplied by its volunteers. For much of the last decade, 
Team Karas has been instrumental in its growth and success.
  When they joined the Center's board in the late 1990s, the Center 
faced deep financial hardship. Sam took immediate action and began to 
contact the Pebble Beach Foundation and other funding sources outside 
the immediate Big Sur community. His efforts put the Center on the map 
for charitable foundations and government agencies. The Center soon 
regained its financial footing and was back on the path to fiscal 
health.
  However, while Sam was out front making the initial calls and 
receiving the credit, I have always suspected that it was Edie who did 
the work. I see evidence of that in the fact that the Center will soon 
replace its venerable trailers with a new building, a development in 
which Edie has played no small part in seeing to fruition. Edie 
continues to be the spark of energy that animates the Center's 
fundraising efforts and every other cause that she embraces. So it is 
with true pleasure that I join with the Big Sur community and the 
people of Monterey County in recognizing Edie Karas for her service to 
the Big Sur Health Center. I wish Edie and the Center the best of 
health.

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