[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 32 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO SAM LAMANTIA JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2005

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker I rise today to pay special tribute to Sam 
Lamantia Jr., a man with a heart of gold who has spent 27 years raising 
money to help abused children. Sam is a master barber in Baltimore, and 
in 1978 he almost single-handedly started the Ed Block Courage Awards.
  Sam Lamantia conceived of the award as a way to help abused children 
in Baltimore. Named for Ed Block, the athletic trainer for the 
Baltimore Colts, the award was first designed to honor one Baltimore 
Colt player a year. Since then, 17 Ed Block Courage Houses have opened 
in NFL cities around the Nation, helping abused children and their 
families.
  Sam moved with his family from Italy to Baltimore as a young child. 
In Baltimore, he grew up playing and loving sports. As an adult, Sam 
and his boyhood friends from the Eastside Athletic Club began 
sponsoring sports teams and giving back to local charities. Eventually, 
they conceived of the Ed Block Courage Award, and Sam talked many of 
his clients who were members of the Baltimore Colts into helping. Sam's 
vision of giving back to the community has now grown to include 28 NFL 
teams and their players.
  I hope my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives will join 
me in saluting Sam Lamantia Jr., a true hero who has found a way to 
help bring hope back into the lives of abused children.

                          ____________________