[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO THE GREATER WILKES-BARRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ON CELEBRATING 
                          50 YEARS OF PROGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 2003

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of the 
House of Representatives to the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of 
Commerce as they celebrate the region's progress over the past 50 years 
at their annual dinner Thursday, October 30 at the Wachovia Arena in 
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
  Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times before, progress doesn't just 
happen by accident. From the beginning of the creation of the 
Industrial Fund 50 years ago, it has taken hard work, vision, 
dedication, and leadership by those who have transformed the area's 
economy from an aging coal mining town to a diversified economy with a 
bright future.
  These leaders, whose accomplishments will be recognized at the dinner 
celebration, set the goals of elevating the economy by encouraging and 
supporting business growth, increasing capital investment in the 
region, and enhancing the area's quality of life by serving as a 
catalyst for key community projects. My colleagues, while we need to 
continue to strive toward these ambitious goals, I would like to pay 
tribute to the business leaders who make up this Chamber and this 
community for their success in moving us closer to these goals over the 
past 50 years.
  Mr. Speaker, this organization has a proud and storied history 
highlighted by individuals who rose to the occasion and helped 
transform this region. Charles Weissman, William O. Sword, Frank 
Burnside, Herbert Morris, Edward Schechter, and many more leaders 
helped build our economy on a proud tradition of doing what it takes to 
make northeastern Pennsylvania the best it can be by working in 
partnership with elected officials and volunteers from the business 
community.
  The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber is relentlessly working in 
partnership with local, State and Federal officials to rebuild our 
region's economic base from the ground up. Whether it is working to 
reclaim mine-scarred land, building and managing five business parks in 
the region like the new Innovation Center, promoting key community 
projects like the Arena, the levee raising and riverfront redevelopment 
projects, or working on the Downtown revitalization efforts, The 
Chamber serves as a vocal leader on issues and initiatives--from 
transportation to education, and from diversity to the knowledge 
economy--that help to advance the Greater Wilkes-Barre community.
  Most recently, the Chamber deserves commendations for reaching out to 
neighboring organizations to improve on efforts to bring a more 
regional approach to economic development, which I strongly support.
  It has been a pleasure to work with Chamber leaders on many of these 
important projects during my tenure in office, and I look forward to 
many more years of productive partnership for the benefit of 
northeastern Pennsylvania.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my sincere honor to recognize the business and 
community leaders of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce as 
they celebrate 50 years of progress on Thursday evening.

                          ____________________