[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       TRIBUTE TO ROBBIE CALLAWAY

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, on April 7, 2001, Robbie Callaway, 
Senior Vice President for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, was honored 
with the organization's highest award for professional service: the 
Thomas G. Garth Character and Courage Award.
  Thomas G. Garth served as president of Boys & Girls Clubs of America 
from 1988 until his death in 1996. It was under his leadership that 
Boys & Girls Clubs began their aggressive outreach movement into 
America's most distressed communities and evolved into one of our 
Nation's premier youth development organizations. It was Tom's dream 
that every disadvantaged youth in America have access to a Boys & Girls 
Club.
  The Thomas G. Garth Character and Courage Award is presented each 
year to the professional in the Boys & Girls Clubs movement that best 
exemplifies the qualities of character and courage, the very qualities 
that made Tom Garth an extraordinary leader and role model.
  Those of us who are fortunate to have known Robbie Callaway for many 
years are not surprised by his receipt of the Thomas G. Garth Character 
and Courage Award. Character and courage have defined his service to 
the Nation's youth. Not only is Robbie's enthusiasm contagious, but he 
also sets an example for others to follow.
  Robbie has dedicated himself to ensuring that every one of our 
Nation's youth is given an opportunity at a better life. Countless 
young people and communities throughout America have benefitted as a 
result. The progress that Boys & Girls Clubs of America have made in 
public housing, Native American lands, and other inner-city and rural 
communities is due in large part to his relentless spirit and his 
unwillingness to take ``no'' for an answer. He believes in his heart, 
as did Tom Garth, that it is Boys & Girls Clubs of America's obligation 
to reach every child in need and at-risk.
  Robbie is also a founding board member of the National Center for 
Missing and Exploited Children, where he currently serves as chairman-
elect. As a result of the National Center's extensive relationship with 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement, along with corporate 
America, it is the leading child safety organization in America. The 
National Center also has a strong working partnership with Boys & Girls 
Clubs of America. Together, these two fine organizations strive to keep 
our Nation's youth out of harm's way.
  Robbie has received numerous awards throughout his career. Yet he 
will tell you his greatest accomplishment is raising, along with his 
wife Sue, two fine children, Adam and Maureen.
  The United States of America is a better place because of people like 
Robbie Callaway. His selfless contributions have impacted the lives of 
this Nation's youth and will continue to do so for generations to come. 
We owe him a debt of gratitude.

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