[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO KARA LAWSON AND DELANO THOMAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 1, 2008

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and send the 
best wishes of California's fifth district to Kara Lawson and Delano 
Thomas, two of our country's elite athletes who will represent the 
United States in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Both Kara and Delano 
reside in Sacramento, California's fifth district. I hope that my 
colleagues will join me in wishing these two athletes, as well as all 
of our country's amazing Olympic talent, the absolute best of luck.
  Kara is a star member of the Sacramento Monarchs WNBA team, a team 
which has seen its fair share of success. Lawson was a key member of 
the Monarch's 2005 championship team. She is widely known in the WNBA 
as one of the league's smartest players. In addition to her on court 
career, Lawson has been involved in sports broadcasting during the WNBA 
off-season, doing commentaries for men's and women's college basketball 
games and Sacramento Kings games. In fact, Kara was the first female to 
serve as a nationwide broadcast analyst for an NBA game. Kara is a 
continuing inspiration to Sacramento's young women and we are honored 
that she will represent not only the United States but Sacramento as 
well, next month in Beijing.
  Delano Thomas has been a member of the U.S. volleyball team since May 
of 2005 and has proven himself as a team leader and points producing 
force. This well rounded athlete toyed, for a time, with the idea of 
playing football for the University of Hawaii, and got his start with 
volleyball, basketball and soccer at Sacramento's John F. Kennedy High 
School. He pursued collegiate volleyball to become a freshman All 
American and member of the U.S. junior national team. According to USA 
Volleyball, ``Delano was the United States leading server at the Pan 
American Games in 2007 with an average of 0.56 aces per set. He was the 
fourth-leading U.S. scorer at the Pan American Games with a total of 42 
points on 27 kills, six blocks and nine aces.'' I am confident that he 
will help to push the U.S. to another astounding medal count.
  Madam Speaker, while controversy understandably surrounds this year's 
Olympic games, I applaud our athletes for their accomplishments, pure 
of political influence and for shear enjoyment of their sport. I also 
know that Kara and Delano, along with all our outstanding athletes, 
will be model ambassadors of America's world leadership and our 
country's foundational philosophy in a country where such freedoms 
aren't as readily available.
  I applaud both of these individuals for their hard work, dedication, 
athleticism and achieving their goals. I thank them for serving our 
country as ambassadors and shining examples of American unity. I call 
on my colleagues to share in recognizing Kara and Delano, and to wish 
all of our 2008 Olympians a safe, fun, and successful experience.

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