[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         AULD-BROKAW TRAIL DAY

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I recognize the Auld-Brokaw Trail 
Day that is scheduled for June 19, 2004, in Yankton, SD. This day-long 
initiative is the culmination of years of hard work from numerous 
Yankton leaders, including the Yankton Rotary Club, the Auld-Brokaw 
Trail Committee, the City of Yankton and the Yankton Parks and 
Recreation Department.
  This day also represents the completion of Tom Brokaw and Meredith 
Auld Brokaw's vision to further enhance the community where they first 
met nearly a half century ago.
  Several years ago, Yankton leaders designed the concept for an 
expansive walking trail as part of a flood mitigation project. Yankton 
raised $1 million for the Auld-Brokaw Trail, relying upon investments 
from residents--past and present. With a generous donation from the 
Brokaws, the dream soon became a reality. The city began construction 
in 2001.
  As the trail began to take shape, an Outdoor Classroom to further 
capitalize on the educational opportunities that it presented. The 
partnership that developed between the Brokaws, the Yankton Rotary Club 
and the Rotary Foundation is the way that most things get accomplished 
in my State--good people working together toward a shared vision.
  The Outdoor Campus along the Auld-Brokaw Trail will feature flowers 
and grasses native to the South Dakota prairie. The nearly 3 acres of 
natural lands will be a great resource to showcase the area's beauty. 
The Yankton Chamber of Commerce has already found the Auld-Brokaw Trail 
to be a strong regional recreational attraction.
  As we know all too well, Americans are spending less active time 
outdoors. This trend is having a negative impact on our country's 
collective health, and I was pleased to learn that the Avera Sacred 
Heart Hospital in Yankton will sponsor health and walking programs 
along the Auld-Brokaw Trail in conjunction with the upcoming events. A 
Pilates demonstration, nutrition forum and community walk will teach 
area residents about the important contribution that the Auld-Brokaw 
Trail can make to the community's health.
  The Auld-Brokaw Trail is an outstanding enhancement of Yankton's 
beauty, and the Outdoor Classroom addition will strengthen the trail's 
attractiveness. I am pleased that Yankton residents will soon come 
together to celebrate the completion of this outstanding project, and I 
am proud to recognize this outstanding effort.
  Tom and Meredith Brokaw's friendship began in high school. He went to 
Boys State, allowing him to have lunch with South Dakota Governor Joe 
Foss, a World War Congressional Medal of Honor winner. She went to 
Girls Nation, where she met President Eisenhower in the Rose Garden of 
the White House. They were class leaders; Tom's broadcast career began 
on KYNT Radio. Though they are far away geographically, their emotional 
bond remains strong.
  ``The world in which I work and live is a long way from home,'' 
Brokaw wrote in his 2002 book, ``but the early bearings I took as a 
child on the prairie, surrounded by working people and the communities 
they established, often in difficult circumstances, have been a 
steadying and reassuring presence. They are familiar markers and 
sentinels, useful and reliable even now, forty years after I left the 
land and the people that launched me.''
  Yankton continues to be blessed by the generous way that Tom and 
Meredith Brokaw have chosen to give back to the community that provided 
so much to them. The Auld-Brokaw Trail and the Outdoor Classroom are 
two of the latest examples.

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