[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S2969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONGRATULATING TIM WILSON

 Mr. KING. Mr. President, I would like to congratulate Mr. 
Timothy P. Wilson on receiving the Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in 
Human Rights Education and Leadership from the Holocaust and Human 
Rights Center of Maine.
  The Gerda Haas Award recognizes and honors individuals who 
demonstrate excellence and initiative in human rights education and 
leadership. In the late 1970s, Gerda Haas was appointed to the Maine 
State School Board of Education and while serving on the board learned 
that students were not being taught about the Holocaust in Maine 
schools. Gerda identified this critical educational void and took 
action to remedy it, establishing the Holocaust and Human Rights Center 
of Maine with the goal of combating prejudice and discrimination while 
encouraging individuals to reflect and act upon their ethical and moral 
responsibilities in the modern world.
  Tim Wilson certainly lives up to this philosophy. Over the course of 
his vibrant life as a teacher, coach, philanthropist, consultant, 
government official, husband, father, and grandfather, Tim has 
dedicated his time to serving others both at home in Maine and in the 
international community.
  After graduating from Slippery Rock University and the University of 
Washington, where he was certified to teach English as a second 
language, Tim served in the Peace Corps in Thailand from 1962 to 1965. 
When he returned to the U.S., Tim took over as the head coach of the 
Dexter High School football team leading them to two Class C co-state 
championships and two Little Ten Conference titles. Over the course of 
his coaching career Tim has been a mentor to hundreds, if not thousands 
of students throughout Maine advocating education and sportsmanship.
  One of Tim's greatest legacies is his work with Seeds of Peace. This 
student exchange program is focused on bringing young people from 
conflict zones around the world together in order to build lasting 
relationships and develop the skills needed to advance peace. In the 
program's first year, Tim managed the International Camp in Otisfield, 
ME where a group of 46 Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, and American 
teenagers attended the camp for the inaugural season. As Seeds of Peace 
grew to accommodate over 100 students every year, Tim worked as 
director of both the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine and the 
Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem. Currently, Tim 
serves as a special international advisor to Seeds of Peace which has 
generated over 5,000 international alumni and which continues to help 
young people work towards peace in international conflict areas.
  Tim Wilson has worked under four Maine Governors, including myself. 
He has served in posts such as chair of the Maine Human Rights 
Commission, State ombudsman, and associate commissioner of programming 
for the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and 
Corrections. He served as director of the State Offices of Energy, 
Community Services, and Civil Emergency Preparedness. He has also been 
the director of admissions at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, 
the associate headmaster at the Hyde School in Bath, ME, and the annual 
key note speaker at Dirigo Girls State.
  In 1997, the late King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 
presented Tim with a Medal of Honor. Seeds of Peace has recognized his 
efforts with a Distinguished Leadership Award and the Maine Youth 
Camping Association honored him with the Halsey Gulick Award. Tim has 
also been honored with the Distinguished American Award by the Maine 
Chapter of the National Football Foundation. Most recently, Tim 
received the Franklin H. Williams Award which recognizes ethnically 
diverse returned Peace Corps Volunteers who exemplify a commitment to 
community service and the Peace Corps' goal of promoting a cultural 
awareness among Americans.
  Tim Wilson has devoted his life to promoting peace and understanding, 
to educating young people, and to empowering them to make their 
communities--and the world--a better place. I can think of no one more 
deserving of the Gerda Haas Award. Tim has led a career dedicated to 
teaching the next generation of young people and he has done a truly 
spectacular job of preparing them.

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