[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18716-18717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      RECOGNITION OF CLAIRE HOWARD

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I would like to take this 
opportunity to recognize Ms. Claire Howard of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 
who will serve as President of the USA Council of Serra International 
next year. This is a most noteworthy accomplishment, as she is the 
first woman ever to serve in this high capacity. I would like to insert 
the following article into the Record, which was printed in the 
Allentown Diocese Times on August 3, 2000:

       Claire Howard of Bethlehem was installed as President-Elect 
     by United States Serra clubs at the annual Serra 
     International Convention in Kansas City. She will serve a 
     one-year term as President-Elect on the USA/Canada Council 
     Board. In 2001, she will become the first woman President of 
     not only the USA Council, but also the first in Serra 
     International's 65-year history.
       As President-Elect of the USA Council (USAC) of Serra 
     International, a worldwide organization that works to foster 
     and promote Catholic religious vocations, she will work 
     closely with the national staff and local Serra clubs, and 
     assist the president as needed. She also serves as a liaison 
     with the council's 13 standing committees.
       ``I'm looking forward to making sure we all really commit 
     ourselves to the ministry of building up the body of Christ 
     through our Serran work,'' Howard said.
       A charter member of the Serra Club of Bethlehem, Howard has 
     served two years as club President. An active member over the 
     years, she has served on almost all the standing committees.
       Her future seat as president is not Howard's only ``first'' 
     in Serra International; she has trail-blazed the way for 
     women in Serra for years, ascending steadily through the 
     ranks of the organizational structure. In 1993, she was the 
     first woman to serve as District Governor of Serra 
     International and in 1994 became the first regional 
     representative (again the first woman) of Region 3 of the 
     then newly formed USA/Canada Council of Serra International.
       She has chaired USACC's Meetings and Conventions Committee, 
     which is responsible for coordination of the fall regional 
     conventions in the 13 regions of the United States and 
     Canada. In recent years she has served as USA Council Vice 
     President for the Membership and Programs committees.
       For the past six years, she has been the Coordinator of the 
     Serra Clubs of the Allentown Diocese's ``Life/Vocation 
     Awareness Weekend,'' working closely with diocesan Director 
     of Vocations the Rev. Francis A. Nave. The weekend offers any 
     adult who would like to explore the possibilities of entering 
     the priesthood or a religious order a time of reflection, 
     prayer and interaction with priests and religious [leaders].
       Howard was also appointed by the Most Rev. Edward P. 
     Cullen, D.D., Bishop of Allentown, to be the Serran 
     representative for the Allentown Diocese Vocation Recruitment 
     Committee.

[[Page 18717]]

       An active member of St. Anne Church, Bethlehem, she serves 
     as a Eucharistic minister, lector and coordinator of the 
     adult Bible study group. Howard's community work includes 
     active membership in Morning Star Rotary; sustaining 
     membership in the Junior League of the Lehigh Valley; 
     Bethlehem Palette Club; and Bethlehem Quota Club.
       She works as a full-time associate real estate broker with 
     RE/MAX 100 Real Estate of the Greater Lehigh Valley. She is 
     married to John J. Howard Jr., and they have three grown 
     children. They divide their spare time between a small home 
     in Orlando, Fla. and a season home in Stone Harbor, N.J.
       The USA Council was formed officially June 1, 1994, as a 
     national council for all Serra clubs in the United States and 
     originally included clubs in Canada. The USA Council 
     represents Serra International in the United States and is 
     committed to its mission.
       As Serra International is the lay vocations arm of the 
     church, the council's mission is to foster and affirm 
     vocations to the ministerial priesthood and vowed religious 
     life in America, and through this ministry, further their 
     members' common Catholic faith.
       The council's primary purpose is to establish communication 
     links between the Catholic Church hierarchy, Serra clubs and 
     local Serrans to effectively distribute information, 
     coordinate vocations programs and activities, and promote 
     membership growth in the two countries. There are 12,585 
     Serrans in 313 Serra clubs in more than 100 dioceses in the 
     United States.
       Serra International, founded in 1935 in Seattle, 
     Washington, is a Catholic membership organization of lay men 
     and women who work to promote vocations to the priesthood and 
     religious life while developing their Catholic identity. 
     There are more than 22,000 Serrans organized into 732 clubs 
     in 35 countries throughout the world.

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