[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1116-E1117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO THE GUILD OF SAINT AGNES AND EDWARD MADAUS, EXECUTIVE 
                                DIRECTOR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 22, 2007

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the Guild 
of Saint Agnes, an extraordinary childcare organization headquartered 
in my hometown of Worcester, Massachusetts. Later this evening the very 
talented and dedicated staff members of the Guild will be recognized 
for their contributions to the success of this agency at an employee 
appreciation dinner. Due to scheduled roll callvotes, I am unable to 
attend that event but wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank 
the staff of the Guild for the exceptional care they provide to more 
than 1,100 children and families all across central Massachusetts.
  As the father of a young son and daughter, I know full well the love, 
patience and understanding it takes to care for children. While the 
demands are often great, the rewards are more often times immeasurable. 
Each and every employee of the Guild should be commended for the 
profoundly positive influence they have had and are having on the 
scores of young boys and girls in their care. Nothing we debate in this 
body is as important as the future we give our young people and the 
good work of the people at the Guild of Saint Agnes must not go 
unnoticed by Congress.
  Madam Speaker, I believe it is also equally important on this 
occasion that we in the U.S. House of Representatives take notice of 
the

[[Page E1117]]

visionary leadership the Guild of Saint Agnes has enjoyed these past 14 
years. Notwithstanding the Guild's proud history, the organization has 
prospered and thrived like no other in the region under the skilled and 
expert stewardship of Ed Madaus. As Executive Director of the Guild, Ed 
has transformed the agency into the most widely-known and highly-
regarded childcare provider in greater Worcester County. In addition to 
growing the annual operating budget of the Guild from $1 million to $9 
million, Ed has led the organization through the rigorous process of 
having all of its childcare centers fully accredited by the National 
Association for the Education of Young Children. He has also built 
successful partnerships with the Worcester Public Schools and other 
area school districts to provide after-school care for countless 
working families. Ed has long understood the intrinsic connection 
between early childhood education and child development, and was the 
primary proponent for seeking the highly-competitive 21st Century grant 
to better connect parents and children to their schools. Perhaps most 
impressive among Ed's numerous achievements at the Guild has been his 
steadfast refusal to ignore the pressing needs of the most vulnerable 
children in our midst. He has aggressively pursued childcare placements 
for children who might otherwise find themselves in foster care and 
thereby given stability and hope to an untold number of families 
struggling to remain intact.
  Not satisfied to do right by just the Guild's clients, Ed has also 
instituted a number of employee benefit programs as Executive Director. 
At his insistence, the Guild established a 100 percent tuition 
assistance program to encourage staff members to further their 
education and training in early childhood development and teaching. 
Today, one-third of the Guild's employees are enrolled in college. The 
success of that program reflects Ed's own life-long commitment to 
learning. A graduate of Holy Cross College, Ed holds both a master's 
degree in Education from Worcester State College and a second master's 
degree in Social Work from Boston College.
  Madam Speaker, in my 10 years in Congress I have seldom encountered a 
more consummate professional and decent human being than Ed Madaus. In 
the tradition of Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children's 
Defense Fund, Ed Madaus has time and again proven himself to be a 
fierce, unrelenting and committed advocate for children. Whether at the 
state's Department of Social Services or as Executive Director for the 
Guild of Saint Agnes, Ed has surpassed that test made famous by Wright 
Edelman when she said, ``If we don't stand up for children, then we 
don't stand for much.
  Madam Speaker, in closing, I humbly ask that today we in the U.S. 
House of Representatives stand up to publicly thank Edward Madaus for 
his lifetime of devoted service to our nation's children and, in 
particular, for his leadership at the Guild of Saint Agnes. He deserves 
our admiration, respect and gratitude for a career spent in the most 
noble cause of all.

                          ____________________