[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING BREAK THE BARRIERS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and 
congratulate Break the Barriers upon celebrating its 25th anniversary. 
The organization's anniversary will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 
21, 2009, in Fresno, CA.
  Ken and Carnie Mullen, Ice Capades performers, had two daughters, 
Deby and Kathy. Deby was a phenomenal athlete, and at the age of ten 
began taking gymnastics at the Fresno Gymnastics Club. By the time Deby 
was sixteen, she had become a regional, state and national gymnastics 
champion. Kathy also excelled in gymnastics. Although she was born with 
Down Syndrome, she was able to emulate Deby and competed in the Special 
Olympics. Deby was beginning to look toward international competition 
when her gymnastics dreams were cut short by a devastating ankle 
injury. The injury did not stop her love for the sport. Inspired by her 
sister Kathy, Deby recognized her calling and began to coach adults who 
had different physical, neurological and mental abilities.
  Deby married Steve Hergenrader, a former New York Yankees baseball 
player. The couple worked on Steve's grandfather's 20-acre grape 
vineyard and started a club called, The Tri-City Olympiads. Eventually, 
they created the Fresno District Special Olympics Gymnastics Program.
  Deby and Steve moved away from the family vineyard and found a house 
that was large enough to house a dance studio inside and gymnastics 
equipment in the back yard, including old bed mattresses, a trampoline, 
balance beam, and a vaulting horse with a spring board. This new 
enterprise was Gymnastics by Deby.
  After many years of working with people with various abilities, Deby 
began to recognize that the barriers that separate one person's ability 
from another is the lack of opportunity to do anything in common 
together. Through Deby and Steve's integrated sports and performing 
arts classes, the students found common ground. The students began 
learning from one another and all of the students were successful. 
Without any advertising, the combined classes grew to include 200 
children from the age of 3 through adult. A survey conducted of local 
dance studios, gyms, self-defense classes and baton twirling studios 
determined that there were no successful programs that integrated 
students of various abilities. With this knowledge, student's parents 
helped to form a board of directors and Break the Barriers was created. 
The organization was officially incorporated as a nonprofit in October 
1985, with the mission to ``Break all barriers experienced by people 
with different abilities.''
  In 1987 the performing group, the Barrier Breakers, was established. 
The team is a combination of performers, each with amazing abilities, 
and range in age from 6 to adult. There are currently 58 performers on 
the team and they perform around the world. There are over 3,000 
students that participate in the programs including aquatics, dance, 
gymnastics, martial arts and sign language. Break the Barriers also 
provides a buddy program, day camps and health and fitness classes. The 
programs are made up of students from eight different school districts.
  Today at Break the Barriers Steve and Deby, along with their children 
Jared and Tyler, continue to be dedicated to their original purpose; to 
break down barriers through a common purpose.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend and congratulate Break the 
Barriers on 25 years of breaking all barriers and allowing people with 
different abilities to perform together. I invite my colleagues to join 
me in wishing Break the Barriers many years of continued success.

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