[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 108 (Friday, June 27, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6324-S6325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SCOTTY COLSON

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, on Friday, June 20, 2008, 
Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oleh Shamshur, appointed 
Scotty Colson, assistant to the mayor of Birmingham, AL, as an Honorary 
Consul of the Government of Ukraine.
  This designation acknowledges in gratitude the work that the city of 
Birmingham and its citizens, under the leadership of Scotty Colson, 
have done to assist the people of Ukraine, especially in the cities of 
Krasnodon and Vinnytsia since 1997, and in helping to

[[Page S6325]]

build the U.S.-Ukraine strategic partnership at the grassroots level. 
This Birmingham-Ukraine relationship began in 1997 within the U.S.-
Ukraine Foundation's U.S.-Ukraine Community Partnerships Project, which 
was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, 
with the strong support of Congress.
  It is almost impossible to comprehend the positive impact the U.S.-
Ukraine Foundation's Community Partnership Program has had all across 
Ukraine and the amazing collateral benefits it has brought to U.S.-
Ukrainian relations. And, with Scotty Colson's leadership the 
Birmingham-Krasnodon partnership exemplifies the very best of what 
America has to offer--American volunteers, Americans giving of a 
helping hand, and Americans demonstrating their commitment to a better 
world.
  Through the relationship fostered by the Community Partnership 
Project, Birmingham and Krasnodon worked together to enhance citywide 
development. Birmingham shared its health experience with Krasnodon 
enabling the city to make substantial improvement to its outdated 
medical system. Due to the installation of mini-boilers in city 
buildings, the city of Krasnodon significantly reduced costs during the 
2000-2001 winter season. Coming from the top-down control model of the 
Communist system but learning from citizen participation in Birmingham, 
Krasnodon established public committees on health care and city 
beautification, public hearings on government performance and future 
plans and a roundtable discussion on housing and neighborhood 
communities. Transparent government with genuine citizen involvement 
flourishes. To help enable future growth Krasnodon established a one-
stop office to register businesses.
  Through Scotty Colson and the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation's relationship 
with Birmingham, other associations and contacts developed for the 
foundation in and out of Alabama for the purpose of developing U.S.-
Ukraine related technical assistance projects. These associations have 
all assisted the foundation in its mission to aid Ukraine in the 
development of democratic institutions, economic development and human 
rights. It is my understanding that one of the favorite slogans within 
the U.S.-Ukraine Community Partnerships Project, which was officially 
funded from 1997 to 2007, came from Birmingham's neighborhoods: ``You 
don't have to move to live in a better neighborhood.''
  Thirteen other cities across the United States partnered with 
Ukrainian communities to work on strategic planning, economic 
development, citizen participation, and communal services. There are 
many success stories. Hundreds of citizen diplomats from the U.S. 
communities, who volunteered their professional services at a value of 
over $5 million to aid Ukraine, represented their own communities and 
offered the best of America through this program.
  Four mayors from Birmingham, as well as many other community 
citizens, and officials, actively participated in this program during 
the period of 1997-2007. As I have said, these personal and voluntary 
efforts represented the best of America.
  The people of Birmingham, AL, who continually develop their own 
community, are sharing their experience and giving confidence and hope 
to cities and towns in Ukraine, that they too can have a better future 
and that they don't have to move to live in a better neighborhood. I am 
proud to call the recognition Scotty has received from Ukraine to the 
attention of my Senate colleagues. This recognition of Scotty, really 
on behalf of the fabulous contributions of the volunteers from 
Birmingham, AL, has contributed greatly to the advancement of our 
country's foreign policy interests and specifically to our strategic 
interests with Ukraine.

                          ____________________