[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15839-15840]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   TRIBUTE TO DAUNE WEISS, BUERGERMEISTER FOR THE GAYLORD, MICHIGAN, 
                            ALPEN- FEST 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 2000

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call your attention to a 
unique celebration in Gaylord, a small city in my northern Michigan 
district. The event is called Alpenfest, and over its 35 year history 
it has come to serve many purposes in Gaylord. Alpenfest is the 
community's major celebration, providing a broad range of family 
entertainment. Alpenfest spotlights the unique architectural heritage 
of Gaylord, where strict zoning codes require downtown businesses to 
conform to an Alpine motif. Perhaps most important for my remarks 
today, Mr. Speaker, Alpenfest provides a annual setting to name a 
community Buergermeister, an honorary mayor.
  Daune Weiss, a Gaylord businesswoman and a close, personal friend, 
has received this honor for the year 2000. The local paper, the Gaylord 
Herald Times, describes this honor as the equivalent of being named the 
Citizen of the Year for Gaylord and Otsego County, and I can think of 
no person in the community more worthy of this special recognition to 
begin the new millennium.
  Daune, a native of Upper Michigan, left the area but later returned. 
It's perhaps typical of Daune's view of her own contributions that she 
feels her 14 years of commitment to the local community don't measure 
up against those who have spent their lives here. A brief review of her 
accomplishments, a detailed in the Gaylord Herald Times, makes clear, 
however, that Gaylord has found one of its greatest friends.
  The owner of the local Holiday Inn, Daune established a Wish Tree, 
helping to fulfill

[[Page 15840]]

about 300 wishes each year for local children. She created the Gaylord 
Wish Tree Foundation in 1987 and serves as its president.
  She has served on the Board of Directors of the Otesgo County United 
Way since 1993 and has served on the Alpenfest Honors Luncheon 
Committee--the panel that honors local industry each year--since 1991.
  With interests in several other hotels, Daune is active in local 
business and community promotion organizations, serving on the Gaylord 
Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors and the Gaylord Area 
Convention and Tourism Bureau. The dedicated community activist also 
serves or has served on the boards of directors of Northern Michigan 
University, the West Michigan Tourist Association, and the North County 
Bank and Trust.
  When an opportunity arose this spring to bring business 
representatives from our district to take part in a workshop with 
Cabinet officers and other federal representatives, Daune Weiss was the 
first name that came to mind. I know she would be personally interested 
in the meetings, would offer excellent input on the interface of 
government and business, and would bring valuable information and 
insights back to her community.
  Daune has received numerous other honors, Mr. Speaker, but I wanted 
to call attention to her being named as the 21st Buergermeister chosen 
by the Gaylord Herald Times, because the honor and the Alpenfest event 
so perfectly represent the enterprising spirit of the community. I hope 
my House colleagues will have an opportunity in the future to attend 
this colorful, unique family celebration. For today, however, I invite 
House members to join me in offering our congratulations to the paper 
for its excellent choice of Daune Weiss as Buergermeister for Alpenfest 
2000.

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