[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 3 (Monday, January 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S227-S228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       A TRAGIC LOSS FOR IDAHOANS

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, with sadness I recognize the passing 
of Dan Harpole, former executive director of the Idaho Commission on 
the Arts, president of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, 
and dedicated father and friend. I had the pleasure of working with Dan 
in recent years as he promoted arts in Idaho and truly changed the face 
of the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Dan successfully worked to 
integrate art appreciation and education into Idaho communities through 
local, State and Federal collaboration efforts. Dan's spirit has 
transformed the arts in Idaho, bringing them to a place of cultural and 
community preeminence. I respectfully submit a portion of his obituary, 
written by his good friend and fellow Idaho artist, Cort Conley, that 
describes, in detail, Dan's remarkable achievements in Idaho.


[[Page S228]]


       In November 2000, Dan was unanimously singled out from a 
     field of 36 distinguished candidates as the new executive 
     director of the Idaho Commission on the Arts. Although chosen 
     for his reputation and recognition earned elsewhere, he was 
     also selected for his optimistic, companionable disposition 
     and pragmatic views, his ability to build bridges and get 
     things done. Chair Marilyn Beck's estimate that he was the 
     perfect person for the job proved astute. He came to inhabit 
     Idaho arts the way paint does a painting. Dan thrived on the 
     lives and challenges around him on what is now called 
     networking. His attitude and leadership led to a legacy of 
     accomplishments on behalf of the arts in Idaho. Not a little 
     of it was his talent for consensus or accord, which he once 
     attributed to being the seventh of ten children: When you're 
     in a big family, you learn to negotiate for your life, he 
     quipped. While in Idaho, Dan served on the executive 
     committee of the board of directors for the National Assembly 
     of State Arts Agencies and was elected president in 2005. He 
     also served as trustee for the Western States Arts 
     Federation. Among the exceptional achievements of his legacy: 
     uniting the Idaho Congressional Delegation not only in 
     support of the budget for National Endowment for the Arts, 
     but for its first increased appropriation in over a decade; 
     bringing the annual conference of the National Assembly of 
     State Arts Agencies to Boise, 2005; statewide Arts Matter 
     conferences; pursuit of strategies for a cultural trust and 
     for art in public places; more recently, the unanimous 
     support of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee and the 
     Idaho Legislature for a significant one-time increase in the 
     Commission s budget; and, finally, being awarded, in 
     memoriam, the Chairman's Medal from the chair of the NEA for 
     serving the National Endowment for the Arts and arts in 
     America with distinction.

  I was glad to hear of the NEA Chairman's Medal that Dan's family will 
receive on his behalf this month, but not the least bit surprised. I 
had the opportunity to recognize Dan's remarkable abilities and 
accomplishments in this Chamber almost a year ago when he was chosen to 
be president of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies. Dan fully 
deserved this and all accolades that he received over the years. His 
love of the arts, his work promoting their appreciation in Idaho and 
his ability to provide leadership, vision, insight, and compassion 
lives on unmistakably in his legacy. Cort Conley concludes his tribute 
to Dan's life by stating:

       In summary, then: love, laughter, courage. All estimable 
     indeed. Still, as a tombstone in County Kerry reads, ``Death 
     leaves a heartache no one can heal/Love leaves a memory no 
     one can steal.'' Nothing more appropriate can be said.

  My wife Susan and I offer our condolences to his family and 
especially to his young children, Hunter and Fiona, at this difficult 
time.

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