[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 27293]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO HILTON A. WICK

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about Hilton 
Wick, a great Vermonter who was recently honored at a dedication 
ceremony in Burlington, VT. As a token of thanks for his tireless 
fundraising efforts on behalf of Fletcher Allen Health Care, the plaza 
in front of Fletcher Allen's Ambulatory Care Center will now bear 
Hilton's name. For decades, Hilton Wick has committed his talents and 
energy to improving his community, raising awareness, and inspiring 
involvement on a wide variety of community development projects. Not 
only Burlington but all of Vermont can be grateful for his outstanding 
leadership and enormous generosity.
  I would like to share with my colleagues an article from the October 
29, 2005, edition of the Burlington Free Press which magnificently 
describes the contributions of Hilton Wick. I ask that the article be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

            [From the Burlington Free Press, Oct. 29, 2005]

                 Hilton Wick Gives His All To Community

       It is a fitting tribute to Burlington's Hilton Wick that 
     the plaza in front of Fletcher Allen Health Care's new 
     Ambulatory Care Center is being named after him.
       The dedication for the Hilton A. Wick Plaza on Sunday 
     honors a man who has been one of the most generous and 
     steadfast community builders Burlington has known.
       When the hospital's Renaissance Project was in its darkest 
     hours, Wick persevered with community fund-raising efforts 
     despite the adversity, convinced that the goal of a better 
     hospital remained sound and that Vernmonters would benefit 
     from it.
       Through the years and with a broad array of causes, Wick's 
     message has been ``get involved, get committed, do what you 
     can to help achieve success and don't forget that little 
     things do matter,'' according to his friend, Dan Feeney, who 
     worked with Wick on several capital campaigns.
       Burlington, and Vermont, have been the fortunate 
     benefactors of Wick's remarkable ability to rally people 
     around good causes, including the United Way, the American 
     Cancer Society, the Intervale Foundation, the ECHO Center and 
     the Community Health Center.
       The health center, which serves underinsured and uninsured 
     Vermonters, recognized Wick at its annual meeting this week 
     as a kind of guru or ``professor'' of community fund-raisers 
     in Burlington. ``To have Hilton as your friend is to have a 
     mentor, a philanthropic advisor, social connector, politician 
     and the best story teller,'' according to an announcement 
     from the health center.
       When people gather Sunday to honor wick, now 85, they will 
     share stories of a man who leads by example, inspiring others 
     to give back to the community--a commitment he has held 
     deeply since escaping death in the South Pacific during World 
     War II.
       The son of a railroad worker and homemaker in rural 
     Pennsylvania, Wick came to Vermont in 1949 after graduating 
     from Harvard Law School the previous year. He practiced law 
     and continues the practice with his son Jim at Wick & 
     Maddocks in Burlington; he taught business law at the 
     University of Vermont; and he was president and later 
     chairman of the board of Chittenden Trust Co. He ran for 
     governor in 1984 and served a term as a state senator in 
     1988.
       His friends know him especially for his devotion to his 
     family--his five children and his late wife Barbara, who died 
     of breast cancer in 2001--and his community.
       George Little, a former state senator who served with Wick 
     on a number of fund-raising drives, said his longtime friend 
     has raised more money for health care, education and other 
     projects ``than I can possibly count.
       ``Hilton is an extraordinary human being who has made his 
     life an example of thoughtful, unselfish generosity to his 
     community,'' Little said.
       Lois McClure said Wick encouraged her and her late husband, 
     Mac, to give to a number of worthy projects including a 
     building constructed in the 1980s at Fletcher Allen that 
     bears the McClure name. ``Mac said, `When someone like Hilton 
     feels I should do it, I guess I had better do it.''' McClure 
     recalled.
       For Wick's daughter, Julia, her father is a kind-hearted 
     role model with a unique sense of humor and a love of story-
     telling. He is dedicated, she said, to helping those in need, 
     ``a quiet and determined leader who imparts his knowledge 
     through inspiration.''
       Wick, who now lives at Shelburne Bay Senior Living 
     Community, said in an interview Friday that he has enjoyed 
     helping Burlington, ``a great place to live''--and 
     particularly the hospital, where ``the wonderful medical 
     personnel have kept me alive, when I'm not sure I was 
     entitled to it.''
       Wick's countless hours of public service have been 
     recognized with numerous accolades over the years, including 
     several ``Man of the Year'' awards from organizations and 
     ``Father of the Year'' from the Lund Family Center. But the 
     real benefits are experienced every day in the community, 
     which has been enriched and improved because of him.
       Next time you walk across the plaza at Fletcher Allen 
     Health Care, think of Hilton Wick and the many contributions 
     he has made.

                          ____________________