[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 116 (Thursday, September 15, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ANGELS IN ADOPTION AWARD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, this week we have had a lot of focus on 
various sad issues, but there was a wonderful situation that occurred 
in Washington this week: people came from all over the country for a 
program called Angels in Adoption.
  There was a wonderful couple from the fifth district who came to 
receive the Angels in Adoption award, George and Brenda Ball. I 
nominated them for this award and had the opportunity to talk with them 
and meet with them while they were here. They are a wonderful couple 
who have taken into their home a lot of children who need love and 
care, and I would like to share parts of an article written about them 
from the Winston-Salem Journal and hold them up to ourselves and to 
others for the great work that they are doing. They live in a little 
town called Tobaccoville, and here is part of the article:
  ``When George and Brenda Ball hear of a child in trouble, they open 
their arms. Never mind that, before they married in 1980, he had 
already raised five children and she had raised three. Never mind that 
they are great grandparents in their 60s. Their house still rings with 
the voices of children. Over the past 19 years, they have cared for 
about 30 foster children and adopted seven of them, most with special 
needs. They plan to adopt their current foster child, an 18-month-old 
girl . . .
  `` `I see it as an award for Forsyth County and North Carolina and 
for all the foster parents and adoptive parents,' Brenda Ball said. 
`I'm just thrilled to death.'
  ``The Balls took in their first foster child, Kelly, in 1986. `We 
just didn't have any children in the home,' Brenda Ball, said. `We kept 
hearing all these horrible stories about children being abused and 
neglected.'
  ``The decision to adopt Kelly was a hard one, she said. `We weren't 
sure we were ready to commit the rest of our lives to having children 
around,' but they did not want to put Kelly through any more heartache 
so they decided to keep her. Kelly is now 21 and married. After Kelly, 
the decision to adopt became easier.
  ``Next came Eugene, 22, who now lives nearby with his biological 
mother. The Balls have always encouraged their adopted children to stay 
in touch with their biological families and are willing for them to be 
reunited if the parents are able to care for them.
  ``With Kelly and Eugene in the house, Brenda Ball decided to retire 
from her job in reservations with U.S. Airways. George Ball is retired 
from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County schools, where he was an 
assistant supervisor in housekeeping, and from the Air Force.
  `` `We made the decision that, with all their needs, it was more 
important to be here for them,' Brenda Ball said. `We just decided that 
children needed us more than we needed the money.'
  ``And the children kept coming. The Balls asked for children with 
medical problems because they knew they could handle them. Most of 
their adopted children had mild to severe medical problems caused by 
premature births and the effects of alcohol and drugs that their 
biological mothers used when they were pregnant.
  ``George Ball, 68, roller blades and plays basketball with the 
children. His wife stays on the move.
  ``The Balls have served as surrogate parents to the children in their 
neighborhood. `I never know when I cook a meal how many will sit there 
or how many shifts will run,' she said.
  ``She is happy to think that her children are not among the many who 
have to worry about where their next meal will come from, or who move 
every month when the rent comes due, or who lie awake at night 
listening to their parents fight over drugs. `There is nothing sadder 
than a kid wanting a family,' she said. `That is why I have ended up 
having eight.' ''
  We are so fortunate to have wonderful people like George and Brenda 
Ball and all the Angels in Adoption, and I salute them tonight.

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