[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E44-E45]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO DR. OFELIA TABARES-FERNANDEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 9, 2007

  Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate Dr. Ofelia Tabares-Fernandez for her outstanding 
contributions to the south Florida community. Both in her professional 
and private life, Dr. Tabares-Fernandez has dedicated countless hours 
to enriching our community culturally and economically. I 
wholeheartedly commend Dr. Tabares-Fernandez for her hard work and 
dedication on behalf of south Florida.
  Through years of hard work spanning three decades, Dr. Tabares-
Fernandez consistently proved herself a capable leader and an 
extraordinarily active volunteer. Her professional successes, of which 
there are many, include her career as a banker and marketing 
consultant, college trustee, research associate for the Cuban Research 
project, and director of the College Center for Latin American Studies.
  Dr. Tabares-Fernandez earned many civic distinctions as well. To name 
only a few, she founded the Cuban Patriotic Education Board and the 
Cuban Women's Club, where she also served as president, and founded the 
Spanish Speaking Volunteer Service at Jackson Memorial Hospital. To 
promote and preserve Cuban culture, she produced and directed a local 
weekly television show, ``Cuban Culture,'' and founded the Cuban Museum 
of Arts and Culture. Her contributions have earned her numerous awards 
including ``Outstanding

[[Page E45]]

Woman Citizen of the Year'' from Florida International University and 
the ``Community Headliner Award.''
  The life of Dr. Tabares-Fernandez is an inspiration to us all. I am 
certain that her children, Pepita, Raul, Jr., Aurelio, Patricia, 
Cesareo, Maria, Juan, Sheila, Jose, and Ximena, are proud of her as 
well.
  Her professional choices, as well as the projects she has 
enthusiastically undertaken in her free time, reveal Dr. Tabares-
Fernandez's life to be one of tireless public service. Her numerous 
contributions have helped to make our community the extraordinary 
multicultural metropolis that it is today. As a result, Dr. Tabares-
Fernandez has earned herself a very special place in the rich Cuban-
American history of South Florida. Dr. Ofelia Tabares-Fernandez is a 
true humanitarian whose work has permanently impacted our community in 
a wonderful way.

                          ____________________