[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12596]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO JAIME FABEY, ELIZABETH TOPHAM, SALIL GABALE AND BRIAN BECK 
   ON THEIR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE IN ASSISTING THE HURRICANE 
                      VICTIMS ALONG THE GULF COAST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 26, 2006

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is a tremendous honor and 
privilege for me to rise to honor four young members of the AmeriCorps 
Program for their heroic assistance to the individuals devastated by 
hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. The National Civilian Community Corps 
(NCCC) program, under AmeriCorps, is a full-time, teamwork-encouraging, 
non-profit organization comprised of individuals ages 18-24 who strive 
to serve the community at large, wherever assistance is needed. These 
four individuals, who so patriotically aided the residents of the Gulf 
Coast area, reside in the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.
  AmeriCorps was founded in 1994, through the enactment of the National 
Community Service Trust Act. Members of the NCCC are required to serve 
for a minimum of ten months at a time, and are Red Cross-trained and 
certified in CPR, first-aid, and mass care. More than 1,600 NCCC 
members have extended their relief efforts to residents of the Gulf 
Coast region since September 2005, and have amassed approximately 
600,000 hours of service--a truly commendable effort.
  Jaime Fabey, an NCCC Team Leader, led a group of ten Corps members on 
two disaster relief mission-projects along the Gulf Coast. In 
partnership with the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, Jaime and her 
team, for two months helped save 16 homes as well as the personal items 
of many families whose homes were unsalvageable. Elizabeth Topham and 
her teammates spent their first assignment helping with the 
construction of the Salvation Army's largest outreach center in New 
Orleans, which aided more than 12,000 local residents. Salil Gabale and 
teammates worked to repair a warehouse that belonged to a non-profit 
organization named the Green Project, located in Covington, LA. Brian 
Beck offered his support through carrying out damage assessments and 
recruiting for volunteers. Brian and his team are currently building 
houses for hurricane disaster victims in Slidell, Louisiana.
  As the Vice-Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, I have seen 
first-hand the positive affects of the NCCC. These four young members 
have no doubt played a large role in upholding the excellent reputation 
of this organization.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have within my district four remarkably 
heroic and brave members of the NCCC. Our Nation owes Jaime Fabey, 
Elizabeth Topham, Salil Gabale and Brian Beck and the rest of the NCCC 
volunteers our most sincere gratitude for their services. We are most 
certainly a safer country because of their outstanding efforts. Again, 
I have the great privilege of representing these special individuals 
and honoring them for their selfless service to those who needed it the 
most during a time of national crisis.

                          ____________________