[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 188 (Tuesday, October 26, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H5878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING BELLE HALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
South Carolina (Ms. Mace) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, today I rise in recognition of Belle Hall 
Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. They were recently 
awarded the National Blue Ribbon School designation by the U.S. 
Department of Education.
  Belle Hall is one of 325 schools in the Nation, one of five in South 
Carolina, and the only one in South Carolina's First Congressional 
District to earn this distinction.
  Led by their principal, Kevin Conklin, and the assistant principal, 
Bonita Foster, and numerous dedicated teachers, Belle Hall attributes 
their success to the tremendous level of support from their families, 
from businesses, and from the community as a whole in Mount Pleasant.
  I would like to recognize the PTA as well who has made significant 
strides in increasing student learning outcomes for math and reading by 
raising more than $100,000 a year to supplement one-on-one tutoring for 
their struggling students.
  As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented enormous 
challenges for our schools, teachers, and parents. Belle Hall has 
overcome these challenges and demonstrated excellence despite them.


Recognizing Barbara Melvin's New Position and Recognizing Jim Newsome's 
                               Retirement

  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Barbara Melvin on her new position as the new president and CEO of 
South Carolina Ports Authority.
  Barbara will be the sixth leader in the history of the port and the 
first woman to lead a top 10 U.S. operating container port.
  Barbara has been with the South Carolina Ports Authority for over 23 
years, and I am confident in her ability to lead our State and our 
region and our Nation.
  Today I also recognize our much beloved outgoing president and CEO, 
Jim Newsome.
  Jim has been the keystone in providing supply chain stability in our 
State and indeed our Nation and has developed visionary strategies for 
the port of South Carolina.
  For 13 years, Jim oversaw countless projects which extended the 
port's reach and led to a doubling of container volumes over the last 
decade.
  I applaud Jim Newsome for his service and his incredible career on 
behalf of the First Congressional District. We thank him for his 
leadership, his passion, and his direction.


                         Honoring Curtis Bostic

  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to an 
incredible feat under extraordinary circumstances. South Carolina's 
First Congressional District constituent, Curtis Bostic, was called to 
action to assist an endangered employee based in Afghanistan. Their 
communication was over 7,000 miles apart.
  Mr. Bostic and his aides at the Christian relief group from 
Charleston called Remember pulled off an evacuation using intelligence 
reports from the streets of Kabul, Google maps, and a secure cell phone 
application to communicate with the employee and his family as they 
avoided all of the Taliban's roadblocks.
  I am happy to report the employee that Mr. Bostic and Remember had 
been working to assist has arrived in the UAE safely along with his 
wife and three children who were all under the age of 10.
  I applaud Mr. Bostic and Remember for their perseverance as many said 
the evacuation would be abandoned and it would never happen. They 
continued fighting for their employee's life and for the safety of his 
children and their family with ultimate success.


         Recognizing Truist Bank and Trident Technical College

  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to thank Truist Bank and 
Trident Technical College for working together to create a new CDL 
training program this summer in north Charleston.
  There is an acute need for truck drivers right now, particularly 
given the supply chain shortages and the issues we are seeing across 
the country from COVID-19.
  This CDL program will enable students to obtain their certificate in 
as short as 9 weeks. Trident Technical College will have day and 
evening sessions for students, and these programs will start about 
every 3 weeks. I have heard there is already a wait list for the 
program, and I couldn't be happier to hear it.
  I commend Truist Transportation and Logistics Center and Trident 
Technical College and Mary Thornely for their collaborative effort to 
fill a much-needed void and gap in our supply chains and for bringing 
the Lowcountry to the forefront of innovation and problem solving in 
the private sector during COVID-19.


                     Breast Cancer Awareness Month

  Ms. MACE. Madam Speaker, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness 
Month. In the U.S., one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast 
cancer in her lifetime. Almost every one of us knows someone who has 
been diagnosed with breast cancer.
  Sadly and tragically, it is the most common cancer among women 
worldwide.
  On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, 
and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes.
  Over three million breast cancer survivors are alive in the United 
States today.
  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I also recognize South 
Carolina reporter from the Associated Press, Meg Kinnard, who had the 
courage to talk about being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this 
year. Meg came home just a few days ago from her many treatments, and 
she is now free from breast cancer. It is a heartwarming story, and I 
wish we had the research and the resources to ensure every woman who is 
diagnosed with breast cancer comes home cancer free.

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