[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21445-21446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING IOWA COMMUNITY LEADERS

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, every year the Iowa Council for 
International Understanding honors immigrants and refugees in Iowa who 
have, in the words of the council, ``achieved, belonged and contributed 
to our community in a significant way.''
  The ICIU began in 1938 when a group of volunteers joined forces to 
aid immigrants fleeing the war in Europe. Since their founding, the 
ICIU has continued to provide cultural services to both the immigrant 
community and to native-born Iowans. The United States has always been 
a beacon of hope for many around the world seeking refuge from 
oppressive regimes, and it is my belief that each generation of 
immigrants has enriched our Nation both culturally and economically. My 
mother was an immigrant from Slovenia, and I am proud to be a first 
generation American.
  I take this opportunity to join in honoring the recipients of this 
year's ICIU awards and to thank and congratulate them for all they have 
achieved and contributed to Iowa's communities.
  Joe Gonzalez was born in Mexico and immigrated to Des Moines in 1957. 
In 1971, he joined the Des Moines Police Department. He was one of the 
first Hispanic officers in the department and has garnered numerous 
awards, on both the State and national level, over his 33-year tenure. 
Among other things, Officer Gonzalez has been particularly active in 
aiding crime victims and victims of sexual and domestic abuse. After 
the September 11 attacks, he worked at Ground Zero.
  Sonia Parras Konrad immigrated to the United States 9 years ago from 
Granada, Spain. She was trained as a lawyer and is most recently a 
graduate of Drake University Law School. Today she practices law in 
Iowa. Ms. Konrad is being honored today for her passionate dedication 
to helping victims of domestic and sexual violence, particularly within 
Spanish speaking communities. Among the programs she has founded is 
LUNA, Latinas Unidas por un Nuevo Amanecer--Latinas United for a New 
Dawn--designed to prevent and deal with the effects of domestic and 
sexual violence. This program has aided countless Iowans and has been 
used as a model in other states.
  Juliet Cunningham emigrated from Kirkuk, Iraq, to the United States 
in 1979 to pursue advanced educational opportunities. She is actively 
involved with many Iowa institutions, including the Iowa State 
University Engineering and Research Complex, Des Moines Science Center, 
Society of Women Engineers and the West Des Moines United Methodist 
Church. In 1994 Mrs. Cunningham cofounded TEAM Services Inc., a soil, 
environmental, and construction materials consulting firm with her 
husband. Of particular note is her role in helping get a TEAM Services 
laboratory in central Iowa accredited for the testing of construction 
materials, making it the first laboratory in Iowa with these 
capabilities.
  Dr. Liansuo Xie was born in 1958 and grew up in China's Hebei 
Province. He worked as a mechanic in a paper manufacturing plant there 
before studying to receive a B.S. from the Beijing Agricultural 
Engineering University in 1982. Shortly thereafter, he married and came 
to the U.S. to study further at Iowa State University where he 
eventually earned a Ph.D. and was honored with a Research Excellence 
award. He is widely considered to be one of the best engineers at the 
Townsend Engineering Company in Des Moines, where he has worked since 
1990, for his work on project design and design productivity. Finally, 
Dr. Liansuo is a longstanding contributor to his community, serving as 
a founding member of the Iowa Chinese Language School, the Sister 
States of Iowa, Hebei Committee, and acting as a tour guide for Chinese 
delegations to Iowa and the United States.
  B.J. Do arrived in Iowa in 1975 at the age of 13. He arrived wearing 
only shorts and speaking very limited English, having fled Vietnam at 
the end of the Vietnam War. Despite his humble beginning, he went on to 
earn both B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical and computer engineering 
from the University of Iowa. From there the sky was the limit, as Mr. 
Do went on to work on, design for, and manage projects for major 
international companies all over the United States. He has since 
returned to Iowa where he is the co-founder and CEO of ABC Virtual 
Communications, a software product and services company based in west 
Des Moines. He has received recognitions for his accomplishments from 
myriad institutions, including the University of Iowa and the State of 
Iowa, along with receiving the Ernst and

[[Page 21446]]

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1999.
  We are proud of their achievements and are pleased they are members 
of our communities. I am sure that ICIU would agree that for every 
story told here today, countless others remain untold.

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