[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S1750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        TRIBUTE TO KATIE HURLEY

 Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, today I recognize a great Alaskan 
as she celebrates her 90th birthday at the end of this month. Katie 
Hurley was born and raised in Juneau, AK, and embodies so much of what 
makes Alaska great. She is a living history of the State of Alaska.
  Katie was there at the very beginning of the push for Alaska 
Statehood, serving Governor Ernest Gruening in Alaska's territorial 
days. Katie served as chief clerk to the Alaska Constitutional 
Convention in Fairbanks during the very cold winter of 1955-1956. With 
a manual typewriter and mimeograph machine, she had minutes and 
amendments ready every morning for the delegates. It is Katie's voice 
you can hear in the audio recordings of the final roll call vote of the 
Constitutional Convention.
  Katie's public service to Alaska transcends every level of 
government. Governor Bill Egan appointed Katie to the State Board of 
Education where she served for 7 years. She served to the term limit 
under Governor Egan but was reappointed by Governor Jay Hammond. She 
has been elected to the Alaska State Legislature and the Matanuska 
Telephone and Matanuska Electric association boards. She embodies 
completely what it means to be a public servant and community member.
  It is appropriate Katie's birthday falls during Women's History 
Month. Katie is a role model for so many Alaskan women. She was the 
first woman in Alaska to win her party's nomination for statewide 
office. Katie was the first executive director of the Alaska Commission 
on the Status of Women and was appointed by Governor Steve Cowper to 
the Human Rights Commission in 1987, serving twice as chair.
  She is still active in the Alaska chapter of the National 
Organization of Women. In the past, she would grab her knitting--baby 
blankets for her grandchildren--to attend legislative hearings on 
women's reproductive health rights. She has been a tenacious advocate 
for title IX funding and education equity. Katie is a breast cancer 
survivor of 21 years and still participates in the annual Alaska Run 
for Women to raise money for breast cancer research. Last year--at age 
89--she finished the 5-mile course with her team.
  Anyone who knows Katie understands she is never one to slow down. Her 
enthusiasm is infectious, and she still spends time imparting Alaska's 
history to young Alaskans and reminding all Alaskans of the common 
goals we shared at statehood and the spirit in which our State 
constitution was drafted.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Katie and her decades of 
service to Alaska on her 90th birthday.

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