[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3448-3449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SHARON DARLING

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
truly inspiring woman, Ms. Sharon Darling. Ms. Darling is this year's 
recipient of the prestigious National Humanities Medal. President Bush 
and First Lady Laura Bush will be personally presenting this award to 
Ms. Darling at a ceremony to take place next month.
  Sharon Darling is the founder and president of the National Center 
for Family Literacy, NCFL, a non-profit organization located in 
Louisville, KY, recognized world-wide for their effectiveness and 
innovativeness in teaching children and adults to read. The NCFL, 
founded in 1989, has worked diligently year after year in an attempt to 
bring about a positive change in the level of family literacy rates. 
This group has been soulfully dedicated to placing family literacy on 
the national agenda and has been very successful through their efforts. 
The NCFL rightly understands that to live without an education is to 
live without a future.
  Sharon Darling got her start in education 35 years ago in the 
basement of the Ninth & O Baptist Church. The basement of this Baptist 
Church is where she first began to teach illiterate adults to read. It 
was also the first time she began to realize that she could make a 
difference in people's lives. She recognized that without access to 
knowledge, these people would never possess the ability to fight their 
way out of poverty or empower themselves with the gift of rational 
thought. If they cannot read, no amount of money or Federal assistance 
will help.

[[Page 3449]]

  Throughout her career in education, Sharon has spent time as a 
teacher, administrator, and educational entrepreneur, constantly 
working to develop new and improved strategies for teaching children 
and adults how to read and how to interpret what they read. She has 
served as an advisor on issues dealing with education to governors, 
policy makers, business leaders, and foundations across the country. 
She has been and remains an invaluable resource to the educational 
community.
  The National Humanities Medal will not be the first time Sharon has 
been recognized for her work. She received the 2000 Razor Walker Award 
from the University of North Carolina for her contributions to the 
lives of children and youth; the Woman Distinction Award from 
Birmingham Southern University in 1999; the Albert Schweitzer Prize for 
Humanitarianism from Johns Hopkins University in 1998; the Charles A. 
Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in education in 1996; and the 
Harold W. McGraw Award for Outstanding Educator in 1993. She has also 
received several honorary doctorate degrees for her contributions to 
education and has been featured on the Arts & Entertainment television 
network's series, ``Biography.'' Her latest accolade places her in the 
company of such great men and women as Stephen Ambrose, Ken Burns, and 
Toni Morrison. The National Humanities Medal is the Federal 
Government's highest honor recognizing achievement in the humanities.
  Sharon Darling has been a shining star for the literacy movement 
throughout her career as an educator, guiding the unfortunate into a 
land of opportunity. I congratulate Ms. Darling for this much deserved 
distinction and thank her for striving to make the world a better place 
to live and to learn.

                          ____________________