[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MARY DOLLISON--A MOTIVATING PERSONALITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 25, 2005

  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, Mary Dollison, of Muncie, Indiana, sees 
peoples' needs and selflessly works to help them. Yet her generosity 
does not stop there. Mary motivates others to do the same. In this way, 
she continues to dramatically improve children's lives, and as a 
result, transform the entire Muncie community. The Muncie Star Press 
newspaper publicly recognized her outstanding community service on 
December 31, 2004, when they declared her the ``Person of the Year'' 
for her work with Motivate our Minds (MOM).
  What began in 1987 as a group of 20 children in her living room has 
grown into a program of 350 to 400 students who meet for after-school 
activities in MOM's permanent facility in downtown Muncie. Starting 
MOMs and shepherding it to its present form was not always easy, 
though. Over the years, Mary dealt with major budget shortfalls, the 
lack of a permanent building, and numerous other potential roadblocks 
that would have caused other people to give up.
  Fortunately, Mary persisted, and succeeded. Past MOMs secretary 
Lenella Maxwell says of her, ``She is just a very giving and loving 
person. She has a heart for children. She loves God very much, and her 
family is important to her. She has a very contagious smile. It's just 
like magic watching when she works with children. She can bring out the 
best in them. She has a heart of gold, and she wants to just help 
people.''
  Mary recently told the Muncie Start Press, ``I'm not happy not 
working with kids. My reward is just hearing young people or children 
come back and tell me stories that I've made a difference in their 
lives. The goal is still the same, help improve the lives of people, 
and I think education is one of the ways that we can help do that.''
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mary Dollison for her tireless service 
to the Muncie community. She truly makes the community, and the world, 
a better place.

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