[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9852-S9853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING DAME LOIS BROWNE EVANS

                                 ______
                                 

EXPRESSING APPRECIATION FOR THE PROFOUND PUBLIC SERVICE AND EDUCATIONAL 
 CONTRIBUTIONS OF DONALD JEFFRY HERBERT, FONDLY KNOWN AS ``MR. WIZARD''

  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent it be in order for the Senate to 
proceed en bloc to consideration of the following calendar items: 
Calendar No. 277, S. Res. 248; Calendar No. 278, S. Res. 261.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolutions by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 248) honoring the life and 
     achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, Bermuda's first 
     female barrister and Attorney General, and the first female 
     Opposition Leader in the British Commonwealth.
       A resolution (S. Res. 261) expressing appreciation for the 
     profound public service and educational contributions of 
     Donald Jeffry Herbert, fondly known as ``Mr. Wizard.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolutions.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to, 
en bloc, the preambles be agreed to, en bloc, the motions to reconsider 
be laid upon the table, en bloc, and the consideration of these items 
appear separately in the Record, and any statements be printed in the 
Record, with no intervening action or debate.

[[Page S9853]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolutions (S. Res. 248 and S. Res. 261) were agreed to.
  The preambles were agreed to.
  The resolutions, with their preambles, read as follows:

                              S. Res. 248

       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was born in 1927 in Bermuda, 
     and attended the Central School and Middle Temple at London's 
     Inns of Court in the United Kingdom;
       Whereas, in June 1952, at the age of 26, Dame Lois Browne 
     Evans was called to the London Bar, and the following 
     December called to the Bermuda Bar and opened her own 
     practice;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans became Bermuda's first 
     female barrister and went on to a distinguished career as a 
     leading counsel;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was a lifelong advocate for 
     the rights of workers and black Bermudians and a prominent 
     member of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP);
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was elected to Parliament in 
     1963 and became the first black female to serve in 
     Parliament;
       Whereas, in 1968, in Bermuda's first general election in 
     which all adults were entitled to vote, Dame Lois Browne 
     Evans was elected the PLP's Parliamentary Leader and became 
     the first female Opposition Leader in the British 
     Commonwealth;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans held the position of 
     Opposition Leader until 1972 and, in 1973, became Jamaica's 
     Honorary Counsel in Bermuda, the first Bermudian to serve in 
     this capacity;
       Whereas in 1976 Dame Lois Browne Evans was again elected to 
     Parliament and served as the Opposition Leader until 1985;
       Whereas the PLP won its first election in 1998 and Dame 
     Lois Browne Evans was appointed Minister of Legislative 
     Affairs;
       Whereas in 1999 Dame Lois Browne Evans became Bermuda's 
     first elected Attorney General and first female Attorney 
     General;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was Bermuda's longest 
     serving Member of Parliament;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans debated at the historic 
     London and Bermuda Constitutional Conferences and served as a 
     delegate to numerous international conferences in Africa, New 
     Zealand, the United States, and the Caribbean;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans was a member of the 
     International Federation of Women Lawyers and a founding 
     member of the Bermuda Business and Professional Women's Club;
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans led an exceptional life in 
     which she played a major role in the racial integration of 
     Bermuda and advanced the cause of civil, human, and minority 
     rights in Bermuda and throughout the world; and
       Whereas Dame Lois Browne Evans passed away on May 29, 2007, 
     at the age of 79: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses its profound sympathy to the family of Dame 
     Lois Browne Evans and the citizens of Bermuda on the passing 
     of Dame Lois Browne Evans; and
       (2) commends the exemplary lifetime achievements of Dame 
     Lois Browne Evans, her commitment to public service, and the 
     singular role she played as a true pioneer who forged the way 
     ahead for women and minorities.
                                  ____


                              S. Res. 261

       Whereas many citizens of the United States remember Donald 
     Jeffry Herbert as ``Mr. Wizard'' and mourn his passing;
       Whereas Don Herbert was born in Waconia, Minnesota and 
     graduated from the La Crosse State Teacher's College in 
     Wisconsin in 1940 where he trained to be a science teacher;
       Whereas Don Herbert volunteered for the United States Army 
     Air Corps and served our country in the Atlantic theater and 
     earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 
     3 oak leaf clusters;
       Whereas Don Herbert developed the idea for science 
     programming culminating in ``Watch Mr. Wizard'', a live 
     television show produced from 1951 to 1964 and honored by a 
     Peabody Award in 1954;
       Whereas the National Science Foundation and the American 
     Chemical Society lauded Don Herbert and his show for 
     promoting interest in science and his contributions to 
     science education;
       Whereas ``Watch Mr. Wizard'' has been recognized by 
     numerous awards;
       Whereas an additional educational program, ``Mr. Wizard's 
     World'', inspired children from 1983 to 1990 on cable 
     television;
       Whereas ``Mr. Wizard'' continued to serve as an ambassador 
     for science education by authoring multiple books and 
     programs, and by traveling to schools and providing classroom 
     demonstrations;
       Whereas educational research indicates that young children 
     make decisions about future careers at a very early age and 
     are influenced greatly by positive contacts with science and 
     technology;
       Whereas a strong education in science and technology is one 
     of the building blocks of a productive, competitive, and 
     healthy society;
       Whereas ``Mr. Wizard'' encouraged children to duplicate his 
     experiments at home, driving independent inquiry into science 
     with simple household equipment;
       Whereas ``Mr. Wizard's'' dynamic and energetic science 
     experiments attracted unprecedented numbers of children to 
     educational programming, even those who were disinterested or 
     unmotivated in science;
       Whereas Mr. Wizard Science Clubs were started across the 
     United States and had more than 100,000 children enrolled in 
     5,000 clubs by the mid-1950s; and
       Whereas Don Herbert will be remembered as a pioneer of 
     commercial educational programming and instrumental in making 
     science education exciting and approachable for millions of 
     children across the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses appreciation for the profound public service 
     and educational contributions of Donald Jeffry Herbert;
       (2) recognizes the profound impact of higher educational 
     institutions that train teachers;
       (3) encourages students to honor the heritage of Don 
     Herbert by exploring our world through science, technology, 
     engineering, and mathematics fields; and
       (4) tenders condolences to the family of Don Herbert and 
     thanks them for their strong familial support of him.

                          ____________________