[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REGINA ROGERS, LADY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to recognize attorney and 
philanthropist Regina Rogers. She graduated magna cum laude, and Phi 
Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and a magna cum laude 
with a Doctor of Jurisprudence.
  Ms. Rogers has earned many honors, including distinguished woman of 
Northwood University; Distinguished Alumna of the University of 
Houston; Child Advocate of the Year by CASA of Southeast Texas; 
Pacesetter of the Year by the Cancer League; Woman of Distinction by 
KTRK/Channel 13 in Houston; recipient of the Cherish Our Children Award 
from the Child Abuse Prevention Network in Houston; the Press Club's 
2002 Southeast Texas Newsmaker of the Year; and recipient of the 2003 
Humanitarian Award from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Beaumont.
  She was the first female regent of Lamar University and served as 
member of the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board as 
Chair of the Educational Opportunity Planning Committee for Minority 
Education in Texas, which implemented programs to increase admissions 
and retention of minority students, and hiring of minority faculty in 
colleges and universities throughout Texas.
  Ms. Rogers is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Ben Rogers 
``I Have A Dream'' program, which provided mentors and $2000.00 
scholarships to several hundred economically disadvantaged 8th through 
11th grade students. She is President of Joe Louis International Sports 
Foundation; and Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of 
Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is on the Children's Defense 
Fund Texas Advisory Board, Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation, 
Holocaust Museum of Houston, and the Pauline Sterne Wolff Memorial 
Foundation.
  Ms. Rogers established the Julie Rogers ``Gift of Life'' program, 
which has provided over 13,000 free mammograms and more than 4,500 free 
prostate cancer screenings for the medically underserved in southeast 
Texas, and over 400 educational outreach programs for thousands more.
  While chair of the Southwest Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation 
League in 1994, Rogers helped found the Coalition for Mutual Respect, a 
group of religious and lay leaders whose purpose is to promote positive 
inter-group relations by encouraging understanding and respect among 
Houston's diverse population.
  Ms. Rogers established Inspire, Encourage, and Achieve, a program 
designed to perpetuate her father's legacy of helping young people 
achieve dignity and respect through knowledge, compassion, 
understanding, and love. The organization provides workshops on 
positive life skills, anger management, conflict resolution, literacy 
instruction, and substance abuse counseling for young people who are 
incarcerated in the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center in Jefferson 
County.
  Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Ms. Rogers co-founded 
the Southeast Texas Emergency Relief Fund (SETERF) that provided 
several million dollars in funds and gift cards to social service 
agencies, grants to faith-based organizations to assist with home 
repairs, and loans to small businesses affected by the storms.
  Regina Rogers is a lady with a heart as big as Texas. She learned the 
importance of public service from her parents. She spends much of her 
life in service of others, and has carried on her parents' legacy by 
being a tireless advocate for those in need. Through her personal 
involvement in, and financial contributions to, countless 
organizations, she has left an indelible mark on southeast Texas, and 
our community is better because of her compassion and generosity. I am 
honored to call her my friend.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________