[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 65 (Thursday, April 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONGRATULATING LANA POLLACK FOR RECEIVING THE 2009 MILLIKEN AWARD

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                          HON. JOHN D. DINGELL

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 2009

  Mr. DINGELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Lana Pollack on 
the occasion of her receiving the Michigan Environmental Council's 
(MEC's) 2009 Helen and William G. Milliken Distinguished Service Award.
  I have known Lana as both a friend and a colleague. She is a public 
servant of the highest order and a remarkable human being. Lana has 
served her community and her state with distinction. As a Michigan 
State Senator from 1982 until 1994, Lana led the effort to provide for 
a cleaner and more beautiful Michigan. As a champion of environmental 
causes, Lana helped clean up our state and ensured that those who 
polluted paid for their transgressions. But she did not limit herself 
to just one issue; Lana fought for legislation to provide gender 
equity, educational improvements and reproductive rights.
  After leaving the Michigan State Senate, Lana joined the Michigan 
Environmental Council, serving as its president from 1996 until her 
retirement in January. While president of the MEC, Lana provided the 
force and leadership that grew this terrific organization, doubling its 
size and producing a ten-fold increase in its budget. But it wasn't the 
size increase or the money that made Lana's leadership of the MEC such 
a success, it was the quality of work that the MEC produced. Under 
Lana's watch, the MEC continued in its mission to protect Michigan's 
environment and preserve its natural resources. Lana used her skills in 
building coalitions of support to manage the 70 member organizations 
that make up the MEC in their combined efforts. Through passion and 
pragmatism Lana led the MEC from one success to another in its fight to 
protect our environment.
  Lana Pollack is a model public servant. She is being honored with the 
Milliken Award because of her lifetime of service and her commitment to 
the environment. Her efforts personify what it means to be an active 
and engaged member of a community and an individual who is willing to 
fight for those principles they care deeply about. I am pleased to 
congratulate Lana on this tremendous accomplishment, for which she is 
so worthy of recognition, but above all else, I am honored to have her 
friendship. I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Lana Pollack for 
her leadership, passion and record of accomplishment.

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