[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF SOUTH 
                                ALABAMA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 28, 2007

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the Boys 
and Girls Clubs of South Alabama on the occasion of their 50th 
anniversary.
  For five decades, the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama have 
provided safe, positive places for children and adolescents. B.R. 
``Babe'' Wilson Jr., Arthur Tonsmeire, and Jack Harris formed the 
area's first Boys Club of Mobile on McDuffie Island with 20 boys as 
members. Today, the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama have 11 clubs 
and a 150-acre day camp.
  The clubs are open year-round and offer members help with homework, 
classes on computers, organized athletics, arts and crafts, and life-
skill programs such as the Job Ready Program. In 2006, there were over 
17,000 registered members, and youth served in Mobile and Baldwin 
counties through the Boys and Girls Clubs' community outreach.
  The Boys and Girls Clubs of America began in Hartford, Connecticut, 
in 1860. At a time when parents labored 12 hours a day, six days a 
week, many of their children were left unsupervised. Elizabeth 
Hamersley, along with sisters Mary and Alice Godwin, encouraged others 
to invite these boys into their homes for refreshments--an effort which 
eventually grew into the Dashaway Club. In 1906, 53 of the 
organizations united in Boston to form the Federated Boys' Clubs, now 
known as the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
  It is my sincere hope that the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama 
will continue its vital service to the children of south Alabama for 
another 50 years. I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing 
the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama, along with executive 
director Mary Zoghby, the staff and many volunteers for their 
dedication and hard work as well as for being a positive influence on 
the lives of so many young men and women throughout south Alabama.

                          ____________________