[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 130 (Monday, October 11, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE DIAGEO SPIRIT OF AMERICA HUMANITARIAN RAPID RESPONSE 
 EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF FLORIDIANS IN THE WAKE OF BOTH HURRICANE CHARLEY 
           IN AUGUST AND HURRICANE FRANCES IN EARLY SEPTEMBER

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                            HON. MARK FOLEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 8, 2004

  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to 
the Diageo Spirit of America Fund and its efforts during the recent 
devastating hurricanes that hit Florida in August and September. As we 
Floridians have dealt with the aftermath of these storms, it became 
apparent that the most precious commodity needed to jumpstart the road 
to recovery was electricity. Without this precious commodity, our 
relief workers were left literally in the dark to sort out what steps 
needed to be made to restore order, security, and normalcy to our 
devastated state.
  Recognizing this need and even before either Hurricane Charley or 
Frances made landfall, Diageo was poised to help our cause by bringing 
four giant portable generators to the areas most likely in each storm's 
path. These generators were made available to relief workers in St. 
Lucie County and throughout each storm's most devastated areas.
  Diageo's generosity and unique foresight helped us literally 
jumpstart our move down the road toward recovery. Diageo's generators 
were first put to task by providing power to operate Hardee County's 
only solid waste facility, a facility critical to public health in 
crisis situations. Two additional generators were used to power a local 
campground being used as a temporary shelter for displaced families.
  In my district, Diageo helped us after Hurricane Frances by supplying 
one of these generators to power the Port St. Lucie pumping station, 
sending safe drinking water to the homes and shelters of over 88,000 
residents of Port St. Lucie and the surrounding area. Water usage was 
restored to my constituents much faster than in hurricanes of the past 
because of the Diageo Spirit of America efforts. The others were used 
at the will of the Fort Pierce Emergency Operations Center wherever the 
need was greatest
  This assistance effort is part of Diageo's ongoing humanitarian 
efforts. In the hours and days after 9/11 Diageo and its employees 
provided numerous relief activities and assistance. In December 2001, 
Diageo brought the first corporate humanitarian airlift to war-torn 
Afghanistan by delivering more than 100,000 pounds of food and 
emergency supplies to 800 orphans in Kabul. In June of 2003, the 
company chartered a DC-8 plane and brought a cargo of food, medicine 
and school supplies to Baghdad, becoming the first American company to 
embark upon a humanitarian mission into Iraq. In November, Diageo 
provided more than 12,000 turkeys to the Connecticut Food Bank so that 
72,000 disadvantaged families could celebrate a traditional 
Thanksgiving dinner. And this past June, the Diageo Spirit of the 
Americas Airlift brought in and distributed emergency supplies to flood 
victims in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Diageo's Spirit of America 
Humanitarian Aid Missions are facilitated by the Bridge Foundation, a 
nonprofit humanitarian aid and development organization which provides 
humanitarian aid worldwide. Diageo is the world's largest total 
beverage alcohol company.

  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Diageo North 
America and its Spirit of America Fund for its rapid response to the 
crisis created by these hurricanes. Their on-going generosity and 
understanding of this crisis and these others throughout the world 
represent the finest and most compassionate qualities in America.

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