[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 56 (Tuesday, April 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING ALMA POWELL AS RECIPIENT OF THE 10TH ANNUAL COMMONWEALTH 
                           ACADEMY CARE AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2010

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Alma 
Powell as recipient of the Commonwealth Academy's 10th Annual CARE 
Award. The Commonwealth Academy is a college preparatory day school in 
Alexandria, Virginia. As a recipient of the CARE Award, Mrs. Powell has 
demonstrated outstanding leadership in efforts to empower young people, 
including those who struggle with learning differences and AD/HD, to 
discover and reach achievement levels commensurate with their 
abilities.
  Alma Powell sits on the boards of several educational, cultural, 
charitable and civic organizations. She is the chairman of the board of 
America's Promise Alliance, whose mission is to mobilize people from 
every sector of American life to build the character and competence of 
youth. Mrs. Powell also chairs the advisory board for the Pew Center 
for Civic Change. From 1989 to 2000, she has served as the chairman of 
the National Council of the Best Friends Foundation, an organization 
dedicated to improving the lives of young girls.
  Mrs. Powell is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters 
from Emerson College, an Honorary Doctor of Humanities from Shenandoah 
University and the Civic Change Award from the Pew Partnership for 
Civic Change. She has also been honored by Washingtonian magazine as 
Washingtonian of the Year and is the recipient of the Leadership Award 
from the Women's Center in Virginia. In addition to her many service-
minded activities, Mrs. Powell has added ``author'' to her list of 
credits. In 2003, her two children's books, My Little Wagon, and 
America's Promise were launched with great success.
  Mrs. Powell was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated 
from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and went on to study 
speech pathology and audiology at Emerson College in Boston. She worked 
as the staff audiologist for the Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing.
  Alma married Colin Powell in 1962. Mrs. Powell spent the next 33 
years raising a family and accompanying her husband on his various 
military assignments in the United States and overseas. While her 
husband was stationed at the Pentagon, she served as the Army liaison 
to the National Red Cross as part of a team of volunteer consultants 
from the military services. During General Powell's tenure as Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, she was the Advisor to the Red Cross of 
the Military District of Washington. Most recently, during her 
husband's tenure as the 65th Secretary of State, Mrs. Powell served as 
the honorary president of the Associates of the American Foreign 
Service Worldwide. She also sat on the advisory board of the 
Hospitality and Information Service and was an honorary member of the 
Department of State Fine Arts Committee.
  It is my pleasure to congratulate Mrs. Powell on this prestigious 
award. I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.

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