[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 191 (Thursday, December 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2579-E2580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING PHILIPPE CRAS OF KINGWOOD, TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 13, 2007

  Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, few people symbolize the American Dream more 
than Philippe Cras of Kingwood, Texas. From foreign exchange student to 
proud American citizen, his life is an inspirational tale of making the 
most of the vast opportunities available in the United States and 
giving back to local communities after achieving great success.
  Philippe is originally from Belgium and arrived in the United States 
in 1977 as an exchange student sponsored by a Rotary Club. After 
attending community college in Oregon, he returned to his home country 
and later accepted a position with a company in the United States. He 
and his wife, Mieke, eventually settled in Kingwood, Texas. Philippe 
and Mieke love the United States and wanted nothing more than to become 
citizens of our great country. They did achieve this goal.
  Later, Philippe purchased property in Kingwood and began building his 
hotel, Homewood Suites. In June of 2000, the hotel opened its doors 
combining European style with Southern hospitality for a unique lodging 
experience.
  Philippe is known in the community for many things such as his 
breakfast which features Belgian waffles that are made in the

[[Page E2580]]

shape of Texas. He has also become popular as a cornerstone for 
community service.
  After living in the U.S. for a while, he became frustrated with the 
fact that voter turnout in American elections was so low. Because of 
this, he hosted a voter registration drive at his hotel. To encourage 
residents to participate, he offered a free breakfast for registering.
  Philippe is extremely active as this year's president of the Humble 
Intercontinental Rotary and has been named Rotarian of the Year on 
occasion. He is especially fond of the Rotary's student exchange 
program which inspired him as a high school student to move to the 
United States. His life was forever changed by the impact of Rotary 
International and he takes great pride in giving back to the 
organization.
  With a heart as big as Texas, Philippe has been a Good Samaritan for 
many years to many people. After Hurricane Rita hit East Texas, 
Philippe opened his conference room for storm evacuees, fed them and 
provided mattresses for them to sleep on.
  Philippe is one of the first people to volunteer his assistance and 
resources if a local nonprofit organization needs help. He has 
collected thousands of toys for Toys for Tots. He is a major sponsor of 
the annual tradition known as Fill the Bus which encourages residents 
to donate school supplies for children. He gave out free breakfast and 
one-night stays at this hotel for those that donated supplies. The 
event literally fills a school bus with supplies for children at Humble 
ISD.
  His largest contribution to Humble ISD was a $100,000 grant in hotel 
services. The grant saves the district money on lodging, catering and 
other services which allows more school resources to be spent on 
education instead of expenses. There are far too many examples of 
Philippe's humble generosity and philanthropy to list. His personal 
impact in the community has touched thousands of lives and residents in 
Kingwood, Humble and the surrounding areas. We are forever grateful for 
his efforts.
  Today, I salute Philippe Cras for his contributions to the community, 
warm hospitality and for making the eternal flame of the American Dream 
burn brighter each day. His life is an inspiration to us all to 
challenge ourselves to be better citizens for the sake of our 
communities.
  And that's just the way it is.

                          ____________________