[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO LOIS McCLURE
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to
commemorate the outstanding achievements of Ms. Lois McClure, voted the
2013 Vermonter of the Year by The Burlington Free Press.
I am honored to count Lois among my closest friends. Marcelle and I
are constantly inspired by her deep and sustained commitment to Vermont
and to those of us who call it home.
As I have worked in public service, I have often looked for guidance
in the breadth and depth of Lois McClure's philanthropic work. Year
after year, Lois has found just the right points of leverage for her
work to make Vermont a better place.
Lois McClure continues to build on a legacy of support for the arts,
cultural and historic preservation, and environmental conservation, and
yet her most meaningful work may be the help that she has provided
Vermonters confronting serious medical problems. Whether or not they
recognize it, many, many Vermonters have Lois in their corner as they
fight back against cancer and other serious illness.
The Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, the Lake Champlain Maritime
Museum, the Visiting Nurses Association, the American Cancer Society of
Vermont, Fletcher Allen Health Care, and many other Vermont
institutions are able to better serve Vermonters today because of
Lois's commitment.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record an article
about this exceptional Vermonter who has dedicated her life to
improving her community and the lives of those around her.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Burlington Free Press, Dec. 31, 2013]
2013 Vermonter of the Year: Lois McClure
The true measure of an act of philanthropy can be taken in
the lasting impact of what the initial donation set in
motion.
Years after the act of giving, the efforts and institutions
Lois McClure has chosen to support continue their good work.
McClure's engagement reflects a broad range, many with a
common theme a focus on building a better life for people of
all ages in her community.
For her life-long commitment to enriching people's lives in
ways big and small, the Burlington Free Press editorial board
names philanthropist Lois McClure 2013 Vermonter of the Year.
Over the years, McClure has built a legacy of generosity
and caring, started decades ago with her late husband, J.
Warren ``Mac'' McClure, former owner of the Burlington Free
Press who sold the newspaper to the Gannett Co. in 1971.
The McClure name can be seen on buildings throughout
Burlington and the surrounding area speaking to the long
record of giving for which this couple has long been known in
this community.
Lois McClure carried on the work after her husband's death
in 2004, and clearly made her own mark on her friends and
neighbors, as well as people who may never have heard her
name. These are just some of McClure's good works.
She continues to serve as a director of the J. Warren and
Lois McClure Foundation founded in 1995, which focuses on
improving access for Vermonters to higher education and life-
long learning.
She is a major benefactor of the ECHO Lake Aquarium and
Science Center--Leahy Center for Lake Champlain on the
Burlington waterfront, a wonderland to children, especially,
who explore what lies beneath the waters of the lake.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum named its schooner Lois
McClure in honor of her support for the effort to build a
replica of a sailing canal boat that plied the Broad Lake in
the early 1860s.
McClure, along with her husband, have long been
enthusiastic supporters of the Shelburne Museum, and she has
made generous gifts to organizations ranging from the
Burlington Community Land Trust to the Vermont Historical
Society.
Following a $1 million donation to the Visiting Nurse
Association in 2006, McClure told the Free Press, ``I get a
kick out of donating money and seeing that money make a
difference.'' Yet among all her giving, the realization of a
temporary home for cancer patients and their families who are
receiving treatment at near-by Fletcher Allen Health Care
perhaps became McClure's signature project.
The American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge opened in
Burlington in 2008, named the Lois McClure-Bee Tabakin
Building in honor of McClure and her long-time friend who
each lost a daughter to cancer.
The call for nominations for Vermonter of the Year asked
readers to ``Think of someone who has made a difference this
year or through a lifetime of work; someone who stepped up in
a time of need or proved to be a leader; someone whose acts
or accomplishments embodied the best of Vermont.''
McClure has been nominated by readers many times over the
years. In 2006, Jane Osborne McKnight wrote in a particularly
telling nominating letter, ``I have never met Lois, but have
admired her good works for many years. . . . She has
personally enriched our cultural life in Vermont and
furthered our understanding of Vermont history. These are
good deeds that will be felt, undoubtedly, for many
generations.''
McClure has lived a life that embodies the best qualities
of a Vermonter who looks out for her neighbor and lives for
the betterment of her community.
The Burlington Free Press' imminent departure from the
College Street building it has occupied since the 1830s
creates an appropriate occasion to give McClure the applause
she deserves. The paper once owned by McClure's family is
moving soon into new quarters on Bank Street.
McClure has built a legacy of making a real difference to
many people.
The Burlington Free Press names Lois McClure--a friend to
Vermonters, today and for generations to come--2013 Vermonter
of the Year.
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