[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 69 (Monday, April 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING EVAN APPLEMAN AND JAMES KENNEDY AND OTHER HONOREES IN THE 
           2007 PRUDENTIAL SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY AWARDS PROGRAM

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                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 30, 2007

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to congratulate 
two outstanding young Hoosiers, Evan Appleman and James Kennedy, for 
being named Indiana's top honorees in the 2007 Prudential Spirit of 
Community Awards program; an honor conferred on only one high school 
student and one middle-level student in each State annual.
  Evan Appleman, 18, of Indianapolis, is a senior at Lawrence North 
High School. Inspired by one of his teachers who once told him that ``. 
. . the greatest problem people have is that they don't understand each 
other, not out of spite, but often out of ignorance,'' Evan took it 
upon himself to produce a series of bilingual television programs for a 
local cable TV channel as a way to promote greater understanding of the 
growing Hispanic community in Indianapolis; and to ``bridge the gap'' 
between the city's Hispanic and non-Hispanic cultures. The community's 
reaction has been overwhelmingly positive with many people even 
commenting that they previously ``had no idea so much was going on in 
the community.''
  James Kennedy, 12, also of Indianapolis, is a sixth-grader at 
Creekside Middle School. Born with cerebral palsy, James became 
involved through his own doctor, Dr. Chuck Dietzen, with the Timmy 
Foundation; an organization which supports health and education 
initiatives in developing countries. James' work with the Foundation 
inspired him to do more than just raise money for a worthy cause. He 
began speaking at schools and other places about the importance of 
focusing on what people can do, not what they can't do; about what it's 
like to have a disability; and about the important work being done by 
the Timmy Foundation. In addition, James agreed to serve as a 
``volunteer patient'' to help students at the University of 
Indianapolis learn more about cerebral palsy. I think James myself 
summed up best why he does what he does. He said, ``I feel what I do is 
important because it helps people understand that even though I wear 
braces on my legs and use a walker at school, I am just like any other 
kid with the same feelings and dreams.''
  I applaud Mr. Appleman and Mr. Kennedy for their willingness to get 
involved and make their communities better places to live, and for the 
positive impact I know they have had on the lives of others, both young 
and old. I also commend the other young people from Indiana who were 
named Distinguished Finalists for their outstanding volunteer service. 
They are Sarah Boesing, 17, of New Albany; Kacie Giles, 18, of Lebanon; 
Savannah Holderman, 17, of Mishawaka; Alison Mansfield, 12, of Fort 
Wayne; Brittany Oliver, 17, of Lafayette; and, Cory Sprunger, 18, of 
Berne.
  Madam Speaker, the Prudential Spirit of Community Award, was 
originally created by Prudential Financial in partnership with the 
National Association of Secondary School Principals in 1995 to impress 
upon all youth volunteers that their contributions to their communities 
are critically important and highly valued, and to inspire other young 
people to follow their example. I believe that young volunteers, like 
Evan and James, Sarah, Kacie, Savannah, Alison, Brittany and Cory truly 
embody what the Spirit of Community Award is all about. Their actions 
show that young Americans can--and do--play important roles in our 
communities, and that America's community spirit continues to hold 
tremendous promise for the future. I am proud to represent them in the 
U.S. House of Representatives, and I look forward to seeing what they 
accomplish in the future.
  I ask my colleagues to join me now in recognizing and honoring all of 
these outstanding young women and men.

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