[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 121 (Thursday, July 25, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5505-S5506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO THE SHEPPARD FAMILY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the

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Sheppards of Eastern Kentucky, a family renowned in basketball and 
across the Commonwealth. This month, Laurel County will gather to honor 
the Sheppards and their impact on the community and dedicate a new 
monument to celebrate Laurel County's highest achieving basketball 
players. I would like to join my home State in recognizing Jeff, 
Stacey, Madison, and Reed Sheppard for their many accomplishments and 
contributions to Kentucky.
  For decades, the Sheppard name has been a staple of Kentucky 
basketball. These days, most are familiar with the youngest, Reed--a 
No. 3 NBA draft pick and one of the Nation's top collegiate players 
while at the University of Kentucky--but his mom and dad, Stacey and 
Jeff, are both UK greats in their own right. Jeff played on two 
championship-winning seasons with the Cats and, in 1998, helped lead UK 
to one of its most unexpected victories in overtime against Stanford, 
securing the seventh NCAA title for the Big Blue Nation. Here on 
Kentucky's campus, Jeff met Stacey Reed, a fierce competitor on the 
women's basketball team and one of the university's best point guards.
  Stacey and Jeff bonded over their faith and love of basketball and 
their shared experience as successful collegiate athletes. They soon 
married and moved their family back to Laurel County to raise their 
kids in Stacey's lifelong hometown. Madison and Reed eventually made 
their own names in basketball playing on their high school teams.
  Like so many young athletes across the Commonwealth, Reed dreamed of 
one day wearing UK's blue and white uniform. His start on the team was 
met with unmatched enthusiasm in the Bluegrass, as one of the few 
native Kentuckians to suit up under Coach John Calipari. He quickly 
captured the attention of basketball fans across the Nation, named the 
Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and the National Freshman 
of the Year, the first player in Kentucky basketball history to earn 
this honor.
  While basketball certainly runs in their blood, serving Kentucky is 
just as much a part of the Sheppard DNA. As young parents, Jeff and 
Stacey established the Backpack Program, an organization that prepares 
bagged lunches for hungry children across Laurel County. The Sheppard's 
charitable work for their church and their hometown and Stacey's 
perseverance in battling breast cancer set an enduring example of 
giving and helping others, of the power of community in times of need. 
When catastrophic floods swept through Eastern Kentucky in 2022, 
killing 45 people, Reed and his family joined together to help flood 
victims and raise money for relief efforts across the region. Today, 
the entire family continues to give back to Eastern Kentucky, whether 
volunteering their time, raising funds for those in need, or mentoring 
the next generation of young ball players.
  The Commonwealth has long been home to the biggest and best in 
basketball. But it is players like Jeff, Stacey, Madison, and Reed who 
bring passion and purpose to the sport that set our teams and our State 
apart. I am proud to join Kentuckians in congratulating the Sheppard 
family for receiving this well-deserved honor and in thanking them for 
all their contributions to the Commonwealth on and off the court.

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