[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20996-20997]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             BOSTON CELTICS ``HEROES AMONG US'' AWARDS 2007

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, all of us in Massachusetts are proud of 
the Boston Celtics. The team is one of the most storied franchises in 
NBA history, and its players are also impressive leaders in the 
community. Each year, the Celtics honor outstanding persons in New 
England as ``Heroes Among Us''--men and women who have made an 
especially significant impact on the lives of others.
  The award, now in its 10th year, recognizes men and women who stand 
tall in service to their community. The extraordinary achievements of 
this year's honorees include saving lives, sacrificing for others, 
overcoming obstacles to achieve goals, and lifelong commitments to 
improving the lives of those around them. The winners include persons 
of all ages and all walks of life--students, community leaders, 
founders of nonprofit organizations, member of the clergy, and many 
others.
  At home games during the season each year, the Celtics and their fans 
salute the efforts of various honorees in special presentation to them 
on the basketball court. So far, over 500 persons have received the 
``Heroes Among Us'' award during the past decade.
  The award has become one of the most widely recognized honors in New 
England. I commend each of the honorees for the 2006 to 2007 season, 
and I ask unanimous consent to have their names, their achievements, 
and their communities printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                Hero Among Us Award Recipients 2006-2007

       Arnold ``Red'' Auerbach (Boston, MA) founded the Red 
     Auerbach Youth Foundation in 1985 to encourage the healthy 
     development of children.
       Ayman Kafel (Sharon, MA) as a member of the Massachusetts 
     National Guard, served on the Military Police Headquarters' 
     Task Force and later on the Protective Service Security Squad 
     during his one year tour in Iraq.
       David Youngerman (Hudson, MA) was chosen to be the Child 
     Ambassador for this year's Miles for Miracles Walk for his 
     recovery from Moyamoya Disease.
       Catherine Pisacane (Hopedale, MA) is the founder and 
     executive director of Project Smile, a non-profit 
     organization that collects stuffed animals for police 
     officers, fire fighters and paramedics to give to children.
       Helen Ford (Cambridge, MA) worked 28 years in security for 
     the Cambridge School Department.
       Eric Christopher (Melrose, MA) has been with the Gloucester 
     Fire Department for 8 years and in January went into a fire 
     without protective gear to save the life of a woman trapped 
     in a blaze.
       Lawanda Myrick (Dorchester, MA) has been a committed 
     parent, employee and advocate for the Massachusetts Society 
     for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
       Lynn Dadekian (Worcester, MA) volunteered to donate her 
     liver for a chance for her ailing father to live.
       Robbie and Brittany Bergquist (Norwell, MA) started the 
     ``Cell Phones for Soldiers'' campaign, which has collected 
     over $1,000,000 and has sent more than 80,000 calling cards 
     to troops in the Middle East.
       Corp. Gregory M. Chartier (East Templeton, MA) upon 
     returning from Afghanistan, volunteered to be deployed to 
     Iraq to help create a local police force.
       Brian Binette (Saco, ME) was born with cerebral palsy, but 
     has overcome this challenge and will begin a career at the 
     Saco Island School in Maine as a mentor, assistant teacher 
     and head of the school's monthly newsletter.
       Clementina Chery (Dorchester, MA) co-founded the Louis D. 
     Brown Peace Institute and also founded the Mothers' Walk for 
     Peace, an annual walk now in its tenth year.
       Benjamin Smith (Springfield, MA) is the executive director 
     of Dream Studios Inc., to introduce urban youth to the 
     performing arts and provide mentoring to strengthen their 
     academic skills.
       Alan Borgal (Boston, MA) has spent the last 31 years with 
     the Animal Rescue League of Boston, working tirelessly for 
     the care and protection of animals.
       Dick Arieta (Kingston, MA) has been the head basketball 
     coach at Silver Lake Regional High School since 1970 and has 
     instilled his values of sportsmanship, hard work and teamwork 
     to all he has coached.
       Dante Carroccia (Johnston, RI) single-handedly assisted a 
     man injured in an automobile accident and saved his life.
       Helen Lamb (Boston, MA) founded ``Camp Jabberwocky'' in 
     1953, which has brought the simple joys of childhood to 
     thousands of children with disabilities.
       Seth Lampert (Sudbury, MA) earned the Volunteer of the Year 
     Award from Easter Seals for his fundraising efforts for the 
     annual Easter Seals Shootout.
       Kevin Sullivan (Carver, MA) moved his truck to absorb the 
     impact of a speeding truck heading directly towards a highway 
     work crew and a police officer on duty, probably saving their 
     lives.
       Jennifer Putnam (Wellesley, MA) a volunteer for Horizons 
     for Homeless Children, has spearheaded the preparation of 
     annual feasts for hundreds of homeless children and their 
     families.
       Danny Vierra (Somerville, MA) is a Transit Police Officer 
     who pulled a man from the railroad tracks before a speeding 
     train could hit him.
       Brooke Rallis (Hampton, NH) is one of only seven people to 
     have overcome the type of extreme spinal injury she suffered 
     and has since dedicated her life to inspire others through 
     the power of faith, courage, and tenacity.
       Marilyn Smith (Medford, MA) has given foster care to over 
     70 children and was recognized as the Massachusetts Foster 
     Parent of the Year.
       Eric Weihenmayer (Amelia Island, FL) is the only blind 
     person to have climbed the tallest peak on each of the seven 
     continents. He also led a group of blind teenagers up Mount 
     Everest, higher than any blind group had ever climbed before.
       Rob McCormick (Norton, MA) a former Navy Rescue Swimmer, 
     was driving home from work when he saw a house in flames and 
     saved two people trapped inside.
       Cheryl Durant (Mattapan, MA) is a foster mother who has 
     taken in more than 25 teenage girls over the past 20 years.
       Jason Schappert (Lakeville, MA), without regard for his own 
     safety, crossed thin ice to rescue a man who had fallen into 
     a freezing pond.
       Ralph Marche (Tewksbury, MA) and Anthony Santilli (Woburn, 
     MA) co-founded the New England Winter Sports Clinic for 
     Disabled Veterans which enables these veterans to enjoy 
     skiing and snowboarding despite their disabilities.
       Carla Lynton (Brookline, MA) has spent more than 22,000 
     hours volunteering with the deaf-blind community at Perkins 
     School for the Blind over the past 33 years.
       Michael Dennehy (Newton, MA) was named the director of 
     Boston University's Upward Bound program eight years ago and 
     under his leadership, 95% of his students have pursued higher 
     education.
       Stefan Nathanson (Newton, MA) is the founder of The Room to 
     Dream Foundation, a local charity whose mission is to create 
     healing environments for children facing chronic and 
     debilitating illnesses.
       Dylan DeSilva (Brewster, MA) at age 12 founded ``Cape Cod 
     Cares For Our Troops,'' which has sent over 1,500 care 
     packages and raised over $40,000 for our soldiers in Iraq.
       John Duffy (Winchester, MA) since 1997 has taken students 
     to Peru to install solar panels to provide power for medical 
     clinics in remote villages.
       John Gonsalves (Taunton, MA) is the president and founder 
     of Homes for our Troops, which has collected over $10 million 
     in donations to build adaptive homes for severely wounded 
     veterans.
       Sean Cronk (Everett, MA) overcame the challenge of being 
     born with cerebral palsy and scored two critical free throws 
     in Everett High School's league championship basketball game.

[[Page 20997]]

       Kevin Whalen (Danvers, MA) raised money and donated three 
     months of his salary to aid an Iraq veteran displaced by 
     Hurricane Rita who gave birth to a premature baby that needed 
     24-hour care at Children's Hospital.
       Officer Michael Briggs (Manchester, NH) a Manchester, NH 
     police officer, was shot and killed while responding to a 
     domestic disturbance call.
       Rick Phelps (Hanson, MA) rushed into a burning house to 
     save four girls trapped by a fire.
       Kathy Savage (Revere, MA), a dedicated volunteer for 
     Special Olympics of Massachusetts since 1985, was named 
     Special Olympics Volunteer Medical Chair and has helped 
     countless athletes to compete.
       Billy Starr (Needham, MA) founded the Pan Mass Challenge 
     with 35 friends in 1980, which has raised over $100 million 
     for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
       Deborah Weaver (Cambridge, MA) is the founder and Executive 
     Director of Girls LEAP, a free self-defense and safety-
     awareness program for girls aged 8-18 in low-income 
     communities in Greater Boston.

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