[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF SANDY BOWEN'S DECADES OF SERVICE TO NATIONAL SAFE 
                    PLACE AND AMERICA'S YOUNG PEOPLE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. YARMUTH

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 28, 2010

  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a woman who 
spent her career tirelessly fighting to ensure young people in crisis 
have a place to get help, no matter where they are and no matter what 
they are going through.
  National Safe Place is a national organization that oversees a 
network of shelters and resources that provide young people with 
immediate assistance, whenever they need it. Sandy Bowen has played an 
absolutely integral role in spreading the organization's mission across 
the Nation, transforming Safe Place from a single service located in 
one community into a nationally-renowned network that has touched the 
lives of almost a quarter of a million young people in 38 states. And 
we in Louisville couldn't be more proud that she calls our community 
home.
  As Sandy reaches the end other exceptional career of service at Safe 
Place, we should have known from the start that she was destined to 
live a life dedicated to helping others. Her first job, in fact, was 
operating a nursery school and a pre-school in her backyard where 
children could attend for just $1 a week.
  After working in the Jefferson County Public School system and for 
the 4-H Program, Sandy joined Safe Place. At the time, it was a local 
program operated in greater Louisville, established to give young 
people in crises a comfortable and safe place when they have no where 
else to turn.
  Sandy came on board a few months after its founding. Since that time, 
it is no coincidence that National Safe Place has grown in leaps and 
bounds, expanding across the country, garnering recognition from 
Congress and 3 Presidents, and helping and educating tens of thousands 
of young people.
  Safe Place has served 100,000 young people in Kentucky alone, and 
every citizen of our commonwealth can be particularly proud of its 
extraordinary work. Our home-grown organization has flourished thanks 
to Sandy Bowen's leadership, developing into a nationally-recognized 
symbol of hope and security for young people.
  When she retires this year, Sandy Bowen will leave behind a legacy of 
service to our Nation, a record of commitment to helping those most in 
need, and a safe place for young people throughout our Nation.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in thanking Sandy Bowen for her 
career of service, and I wish her nothing but luck and continued 
success in the next chapter of her life.

                          ____________________