[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 23]
[Senate]
[Page 31881]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DR. ANDREW MAYS

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, today I want to commend a 
distinguished resident of the State of Alabama, Dr. Andrew Mays. Dr. 
Mays lives in Birmingham, AL. He is a well-respected member of the 
medical community in our State, serving as a faculty member in the 
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine's Department of 
Ophthalmology, as well as operating a private clinical practice. He 
serves our State public education and health systems at the Callahan 
Eye Foundation Hospital, where he concentrates his research and 
practice in combating the devastating effects of the eye disease 
glaucoma. Dr. Mays also sits on the Board of Directors for the Alabama 
Academy of Ophthalmology.
  However, I speak to you today not to praise Dr. Mays for his 
accomplishments in medicine, but to congratulate him on being awarded 
the first prize in the 2007 Van Cliburn International Competition for 
Outstanding Amateurs. Dr. Mays beat 74 other contestants on June 3, 
2007, to earn this mark of distinction. This competition lasts a week, 
and allows competitors over the age of 35 who do not earn their 
livelihood through playing or providing instruction on the piano to vie 
for a chance to win this distinguished title.
  Michael Huebner of the Birmingham News once stated that Dr. Mays 
possessed ``a heart and mind of extraordinary capacity.'' Drew Mays 
possesses wonderful talent. He polished and sharpened this talent at 
the School of Music at the University of Alabama, earning both a 
Bachelor of Music in 1982, summa cum laude honors included, and a 
Master of Music degree in 1987 from this fine institution. In addition, 
he earned the opportunities to study at the Conservatory of Music in 
Hanover, Germany, and the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, 
where he began his Master studies.
  Not only has Dr. Mays made a name for himself through medicine and 
music, he is a man dedicated to family values. He and his wife, Dr. 
Therese Mays, have four young children. Dr. Mays had his family by his 
side as he won the Van Cliburn competition this year. I had the 
pleasure of meeting him and his wife when they came to visit my office 
during a trip to play at George Washington University through a 
Smithsonian Associates program. During the recital he gave at the Jack 
Morton Auditorium on the GWU campus, you could see the bond these two 
shared as musicians and partners, as his wife nodded along to the 
twists, turns, and rhythms of his performance.
  I commend Dr. Andrew Mays for all of his accomplishments and 
successes, and I am proud to be able to represent such a wonderful man. 
I share with this body today my pleasure in congratulating Dr. Mays for 
winning this prestigious competition, as he is certainly a worthy 
recipient.

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