[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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