[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 126 (Wednesday, September 9, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF THE 
                        MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. W. TODD AKIN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 9, 2009

  Mr. AKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
accomplishments of Junior Achievement of Mississippi River Valley. In 
particular, I would like to congratulate the organization's President, 
Lori Jacob, for winning JA Worldwide's 2009 Karl Flemke Pioneer 
Achievement Award. This award recognizes significant achievements and 
contributions of new Junior Achievement USA Member Presidents.
  Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to 
teaching students in Kindergarten through 12th grade about the 
importance of economics, entrepreneurism, and financial literacy. The 
organization reaches over 9 million students around the world each 
year, with over 130 local offices in the United States and operations 
in over 110 countries worldwide. One of the things that makes JA so 
unique is its use of adult volunteers to bring business to life for 
students. In the U.S. alone, young people in more than 188,000 
classrooms benefit annually from these positive role models.
  Ms. Jacob is clearly deserving of receiving this year's Flemke Award.
  She began her career with Junior Achievement in 1987, serving in many 
roles within the Marketing, Education, Development, and Operation 
departments until she assumed her current position in 2007. Under her 
leadership, the area reached 127,000 students in over 700 schools this 
year, on a $2.7 million budget, making Junior Achievement of 
Mississippi Valley one of the organization's largest operations in the 
United States. Ms. Jacobs led the area to become a national two-time 
winner of JA's most prestigious funding award--the MetLife 
Entrepreneurial Award. She has been a champion in creating more 
awareness of JA, and has a volunteer board of directors composed of 
over 60 leaders of the St. Louis community.
  In this current economic climate, teaching students the importance of 
economics and financial literacy is of the utmost importance, and I 
congratulate Ms. Jacobs and Junior Achievement of the Mississippi River 
Valley for their efforts throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.

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