[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12275]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MR. BILL HARDISTY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 10, 2007

  Ms. GRANGER. Madam Speaker, we often hear so much about what is wrong 
with America. I'd like to focus on what is right. And today throughout 
America, there are great teachers making a great difference in the 
lives of their students. As I often say, many people spend their lives 
building careers but teachers spend their careers building lives.
  And few have done it better or longer than Mr. Bill Hardisty, the 
principal of Cassata High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
  This year, Mr. Hardisty concludes a 37-year career in education. For 
two and a half decades, he served in the Fort Worth Independent School 
District as a coach, teacher and assistant principal. And for the past 
11 years, he has served at Cassata. He started as associate director 
and in 2002, he was named principal.
  Hardisty's service extends beyond our children's education. Before he 
taught in our schools, he defended our country. A marine who later 
served in the Army Reserve, Mr. Hardisty was the very embodiment of the 
noble Marine Corps motto: Semper Fi. He was always faithful.
  But it is his work as an educator that has touched the lives of so 
many future leaders. One of his students later served on my staff. Here 
is what he told me about Hardisty: ``He taught with his heart. He knew 
that kids don't care what you know until they know that you care. Mr. 
Hardisty cared. And so his students listened and learned from him.''
  This is what teachers do: they shape minds and change lives. It was 
Yeats who wrote that education is not the filling of a pail but the 
lighting of a fire. Thanks to Mr. Hardisty, countless people are today 
living lives fueled by a flame lit long ago in his classroom.
  Cassata High School will miss Mr. Hardisty. But it will never forget 
him. His leadership and his legacy will live on in the many students 
whose lives he touched.
  Thank you, Bill Hardisty, for your service to your students and your 
service to your country.

                          ____________________