[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 83 (Thursday, June 9, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3678]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVID CRAIG

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President on behalf of Senator Cantwell and 
myself, it is with great privilege that I congratulate a hard-working 
Washingtonian, Mr. David Craig, on his well-deserved retirement on June 
23, 2011, after forty seven years of dedicated service to the students 
of Highline High School.
  Mr. Craig taught business in classroom 216 at Highline High School 
for his entire career. To put his extraordinary longevity in 
perspective, Mr. Craig's first graduating class were 18 years old 
during the 1964-1965 school year. During that same year, President 
Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty and signed the 1964 Civil Rights 
Act; Beatlemania was sweeping the globe, and Muhammad Ali was named the 
heavy weight champion of the world. Today, those 18-year-old students 
are now senior citizens.
  Over the course of five decades, Mr. Craig has touched the lives of 
over 10,000 students. He had the pleasure, as few teachers do, of 
having his children, Michael and Shelley, as students. He taught Royce 
Badley, now his coworker and Academic Dean of Students for the Highline 
High School, and Shaya Calvo, now senior prosecuting attorney for King 
County. He has also seen his share of tragedies, including losing 
students to conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Yet he is 
consistently reminded of the joy of teaching, seeing it not only in the 
young people he continues to help today, but also in the frequent 
encounters he has with former students in his day-to-day life.
  It is important moments such as the retirement of a great teacher 
that we reflect on their impact on their school and community. In 
assessing the legacy of a teacher like Dave Craig, Henry Adams perhaps 
said it best: ``a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his 
influence stops.'' The legacy that Dave Craig leaves is one that has 
positively affected the lives of thousands of young people, giving them 
one of the greatest gifts America can bestow upon its citizenry: the 
gift of education. As a teacher, Dave Craig has served his school, his 
community, his country and most importantly his students with 
enthusiasm and dedication. We should all be very thankful for his 
selfless devotion to Highline High School.
  On behalf of all Washingtonians, we commend David for his many years 
of commitment to our State. His knowledge, experience, and loyalty to 
education will be sorely missed. We congratulate David and wish he and 
his wife Paula the best of luck in their future endeavors.

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