[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 9, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TEXAS 4000

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 9, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, during the summer months of 2016, 
TEXAS 4000, a University of Texas non-profit organization, will host 
their annual summer bike ride: the longest charity bicycle ride in the 
world (as they say, everything's bigger in Texas). The ride starts in 
Austin, TX and stretches 4,000 miles across the country to Anchorage, 
Alaska. Participating in this ride are 75, carefully selected, 
University of Texas college students. These 75 UT students will commit 
70 days of their summer to complete the 4,000-mile ride, utilizing each 
day to raise awareness about cancer prevention, detection, and research 
in the communities they visit along the way. One of the 75 UT students, 
Jeffery Saeling, happens to be a constituent of mine.
  Jeffery attended Kingwood High School in Texas from 2008 to 2012. 
During his senior year, in 2012, he was nominated as the Kingwood High 
School student of character for exhibiting responsibility, respect, 
trustworthiness, fairness, caring and citizenship; consequently, I, 
along with Dr. Guy Sconzo, the superintendent of Humble ISD, and Texas 
State Representative, Dan Huberty had the pleasure of meeting Jeffery, 
where we experienced firsthand the quality of his character. Four years 
later, in 2016, Jeffery's continued display of character is one of the 
reasons he was selected to participate in the TEXAS 4000's summer ride. 
However, selection for the ride is only the beginning.
  Once selected to participate, each rider is expected to raise $4,500 
and volunteer at least 50 hours in their community. On top of this, 
riders must commit to dedicate time and effort in the planning, 
preparation, and execution of the summer ride. These lofty expectations 
coupled with the physicality of the ride work in tandem to cultivate 
volunteers and philanthropists dedicated to eradicating cancer. 
However, this wouldn't be possible without TEXAS 4000, the non-profit 
organization responsible for the 4000-mile ride.
  Their mission: to share ``hope, knowledge, and charity through 
leadership development, grant making, and their 4,000 plus mile bike 
ride from Austin to Anchorage: They share hope by letting those 
affected by cancer know that they are riding for them and fighting for 
a world without cancer; they share knowledge by bringing life-saving 
information about cancer prevention to communities and providing 
leadership development training to tomorrow's leaders; and they share 
charity by contributing to cancer research and cancer support services 
while developing the next generation of volunteers and 
philanthropists.''
  To date, TEXAS 4000 has raised over $5 million for distribution to 
various organizations such as M.D. Anderson and the American Cancer 
Society. Their impact and influence is not contained by the boundaries 
of the community they operate within, it spans nationwide.
  Organizations, like TEXAS 4000, and people, like Jeffery Saeling, 
represent some of the best my district and Texas has to offer. Their 
selflessness, dedication, and volunteerism stand as a shining example 
of the type of quality Americans who call Texas home. Their mission is 
honorable and their hearts huge.
  And that's just the way it is.

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