[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29639]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 COMMENDING EUNICE WALLER ON RECEIVING THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 
                     FROM THE NAACP OF CONNECTICUT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 10, 1999

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Eunice Waller 
upon receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP of 
Connecticut. Eunice Waller is an extraordinary American who has 
dedicated her life to educating young people and improving race 
relations.
  Ms. Waller has spent the better part of the past thirty years serving 
citizens in Waterford and New London, CT. She was a teacher at the 
Clark Lane Middle School for 26 years working to ensure that thousands 
of young people received the best possible education. She served as a 
member of the board of education and city council in New London as well 
as mayor of the city.
  Eunice Waller has devoted her life to expanding opportunity for all 
citizens of southeastern Connecticut. She has played a guiding role in 
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Trust Fund. The fund provides 
scholarships to help minority students to attend college. Thanks to her 
efforts, the gates to our nation's colleges have been opened to 
deserving students regardless of income.
  Mr. Speaker, I have included an editorial from the New London Day 
which eloquently describes Eunice Waller's many contributions to 
improving the lives of citizens across southeastern Connecticut. I 
commend her for her service and join the NAACP in honoring her life's 
work.

                [From the New London Day, Nov. 2, 1999]

                       Eunice M. Waller's Service

       Eunice M. Waller, a Waterford teacher for 26 years, served 
     on the New London Board of Education and City Council and has 
     been mayor of the city, but her greatest achievements as an 
     involved citizen have been her encouragement of children to 
     improve their lives and adults to get involved in their 
     communities. She has been especially effective working with 
     minority citizens.
       All people, young and adult, need encouragement or an 
     exhortation to work hard and achieve goals. Those remarks 
     remind people--often during periods that seem discouraging--
     to press forward and get beyond the problem of the moment.
       Eunice Waller has helped countless people with those simple 
     acts of kindness. She has also served as a conscience for 
     people who interacted with her. Leadership by example matters 
     because it signals others that the words coming out of a 
     person's mouth are not rhetoric, but rather a reflection of 
     the earnest efforts that person is making every day in life. 
     Eunice Waller has led by example.
       Her public life has served to complement her other 
     activities, such as her 20 years of service to the Mitchell 
     College board and her founding role in the National Council 
     of Negro Women. Countless young people remember her best for 
     the guidance and assertiveness she has given the Dr. Martin 
     Luther King Jr. Memorial Trust Fund. This outstanding local 
     scholarship service has helped many minority young people 
     from the region go on to colleges and successful careers in a 
     variety of fields.
       So it was especially fitting that the state NAACP honored 
     Mrs. Waller with a lifetime achievement award at a prayer 
     breakfast Sunday in New Haven. The Acronym NAACP stands for 
     National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
     but it really stands for equality and progress in race 
     relations in this country.
       In the past and still today, Eunice Waller monitors the 
     results of that effort. Because of people like her, race 
     relations continue to improve in this nation and many people 
     live happier, more productive lives.

     

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