[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10505-10506]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               ANNUAL CRAWFISH BOIL IN GILLETTE, WYOMING

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I would like to speak about community 
spirit. In the Senate, we work day in and day out to pass good policy 
that will provide for the safety, security, and health of the Nation, 
but we are not alone in our effort to make our country better. In fact, 
we are but a small part. There are great events taking place every day 
in our country that are examples of neighbor helping neighbor, people 
who do not wait and do not ask for help but take it upon themselves to 
act. I would like to tell you about one such example that has been 
going on for years in Wyoming right in the small community I call home.
  When people think about my hometown of Gillette, WY, many images come 
to mind--sagebrush as far as the eye can see, coal trucks, and cattle 
herds. We have deer, antelope, and some buffalo in the neighboring 
community of Wright. Our kids are great basketball players, and we work 
hard to get the methane gas and minerals that power this country. The 
list goes on. But after living in Gillette for more than three decades, 
what stands out about home are the people themselves, their character, 
their sense of community, and how they come together to help each 
other. And then there is the crawfish. Yes, I said crawfish.
  This week, Gillette will be kicking off a 24-year tradition of flying 
in 10,000 pounds of crawfish for the annual Crawfish Boil. The event 
raises money for local families with medical hardships and was started 
in 1983 by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. The event raised 
$117,000 last year to help people get medical treatment. This weekend 
we hope to top that number.
  Wyoming may be small in population, but our families know how to help 
each other out more than any other State in the Nation. Wyomingites do 
not just rely on government for help--they talk to neighbors, they come 
up with a good idea, they organize, and they follow through. The 
crawfish feed is an example for the Nation on how to pull yourself and 
your neighbor up by the bootstraps and have fun doing it.
  Gillette not only raised $117,000 at last year's Crawfish Boil, the 
Festival

[[Page 10506]]

of Trees raised $51,500 for hospice and lifeline services, the Chili 
Cook-Off raised $28,800 for the Council of Community Services, the 
Black Cat Ball raised $26,000 for the Hospice Hospitality House, the 
Chuckles for Charity event raised $24,000 for the Gillette Area Refuge, 
and the Rotary Ball raised $40,000 for education and other programs in 
Gillette. Mr. President, $287,000 in 1 year, in one community with 
roughly 25,000 residents. I could not think of a better place to call 
home.

                          ____________________