[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 25] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 34391] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]REGINA ROGERS, LADY OF SOUTHEAST TEXAS ______ HON. TED POE of texas in the house of representatives Thursday, December 13, 2007 Mr. POE. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to recognize attorney and philanthropist Regina Rogers. She graduated magna cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, and a magna cum laude with a Doctor of Jurisprudence. Ms. Rogers has earned many honors, including distinguished woman of Northwood University; Distinguished Alumna of the University of Houston; Child Advocate of the Year by CASA of Southeast Texas; Pacesetter of the Year by the Cancer League; Woman of Distinction by KTRK/Channel 13 in Houston; recipient of the Cherish Our Children Award from the Child Abuse Prevention Network in Houston; the Press Club's 2002 Southeast Texas Newsmaker of the Year; and recipient of the 2003 Humanitarian Award from Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Beaumont. She was the first female regent of Lamar University and served as member of the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board as Chair of the Educational Opportunity Planning Committee for Minority Education in Texas, which implemented programs to increase admissions and retention of minority students, and hiring of minority faculty in colleges and universities throughout Texas. Ms. Rogers is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Ben Rogers ``I Have A Dream'' program, which provided mentors and $2000.00 scholarships to several hundred economically disadvantaged 8th through 11th grade students. She is President of Joe Louis International Sports Foundation; and Member of the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. She is on the Children's Defense Fund Texas Advisory Board, Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation, Holocaust Museum of Houston, and the Pauline Sterne Wolff Memorial Foundation. Ms. Rogers established the Julie Rogers ``Gift of Life'' program, which has provided over 13,000 free mammograms and more than 4,500 free prostate cancer screenings for the medically underserved in southeast Texas, and over 400 educational outreach programs for thousands more. While chair of the Southwest Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation League in 1994, Rogers helped found the Coalition for Mutual Respect, a group of religious and lay leaders whose purpose is to promote positive inter-group relations by encouraging understanding and respect among Houston's diverse population. Ms. Rogers established Inspire, Encourage, and Achieve, a program designed to perpetuate her father's legacy of helping young people achieve dignity and respect through knowledge, compassion, understanding, and love. The organization provides workshops on positive life skills, anger management, conflict resolution, literacy instruction, and substance abuse counseling for young people who are incarcerated in the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center in Jefferson County. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Ms. Rogers co-founded the Southeast Texas Emergency Relief Fund (SETERF) that provided several million dollars in funds and gift cards to social service agencies, grants to faith-based organizations to assist with home repairs, and loans to small businesses affected by the storms. Regina Rogers is a lady with a heart as big as Texas. She learned the importance of public service from her parents. She spends much of her life in service of others, and has carried on her parents' legacy by being a tireless advocate for those in need. Through her personal involvement in, and financial contributions to, countless organizations, she has left an indelible mark on southeast Texas, and our community is better because of her compassion and generosity. I am honored to call her my friend. And that's just the way it is. ____________________