[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14119-14120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




ADDRESS TO ESCAMBIA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL'S CLASS OF 2009 AS READ BY TRAY 
                       SMITH, CLASS SALUTATORIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 4, 2009

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, last month I had the privilege of giving 
the commencement address to Escambia County High School's Class of 
2009. My friend, Tray Smith of Atmore, the class salutatorian, also had 
the opportunity to address his fellow classmates. In just 18 years, 
Tray has already compiled an impressive list of accomplishments. In 
2008, he served as a page in the U.S. House of Representatives in 
Washington, D.C., and earlier this year, he was named Atmore's 2008 
``Citizen of the Year.''
  I rise today to ask that his address be entered into the 
Congressional Record for I believe it to be one of the finest and most 
inspiring addresses given by a high school student that I have ever 
heard:

         Leaving our Children a Better Country Than We Inherit

                            (By Tray Smith)

       Thirty-five years ago, my father graduated from ECHS. Then, 
     the country was shaken by the scandal of Watergate and the 
     Vietnam War. Every year since, a different group of faces has 
     arrived here during its own unique period in our history. 
     Over time, America and the world have greatly changed. So 
     now, we, the Class of 2009, come to graduate under different 
     circumstances than those that faced our parents. Yet, the 
     challenges that face us are just as great as those that faced 
     them. And just as our moms and dads responded to the problems 
     facing our nation by spreading freedom to every continent and 
     the Internet to almost every home, we will meet our own 
     challenges. For we know as our parents knew, that our 
     greatest responsibility as Americans is to leave our children 
     a better country than the one we are about to inherit.
       Graduation means we are ready to meet this task--not 
     because we know everything we will ever need to learn, but 
     because we know how to learn anything we will ever need to 
     find out.
       I have the honor of commemorating this moment as the 
     salutatorian of a class that has many talented students. And 
     it is a special honor to stand before Joy Marshall, our 
     valedictorian and my good friend. Joy, I am so proud for you, 
     I will miss you, and I know this school will miss you, as 
     well.
       Congressman Bonner, Mr. Means, parents, teachers, friends, 
     guests, and members of the community; thank you all for being 
     here to join with us in this great moment in our lives. And 
     on behalf of the entire Class of 2009, I extend a sincere 
     thanks to you all, especially our parents and grandparents, 
     for the contributions you have made to make this moment 
     possible.
       I want to specifically thank Congressman Bonner for making 
     this event a priority. Congressman, the fact you are here 
     signifies your strong commitment to our young people, and our 
     future. While in Congress, you have done many great things 
     for this district. On a personal basis, though, I am most 
     appreciative for the life changing doors you have opened for 
     me, a young kid from Atmore. I can't imagine my high school 
     years without the experiences I had working in Washington as 
     your page. And the reason my class wanted you to come speak 
     tonight is because, as we look forward to the future, there 
     is no better person for us to emulate. Again, thank you.
       Even though we graduate tonight, we will still depend on 
     many of you in this room. I am sure I will not be the only 
     member of the Class of 2009 to call Mom every time I have to 
     do laundry in college. I still have no clue how to work the 
     machines. Okay, I might be alone on that one. But I want our 
     parents and mentors to know we will always be open to your 
     advice and appreciate your insight.
       Mom and Dad, Nee Nee and Paw Paw, Aunts and Uncles, Mrs. 
     Bonnie and Mrs. West, other family members and friends, I 
     love you all and I am so thankful for the role you have 
     played in my life. And I know for all of my 132 fellow 
     graduates, there are an equal number of people who share in 
     the credit for this day, and who will share in the credit for 
     the successes that come in the future.
       When Mom asked me to describe my first day at ECHS years 
     ago, I said it was like walking through the mall. But now, 
     after having spent several years with classmates in school, 
     at events, and serving our extracurricular responsibilities, 
     the faces that were once like strangers in the mall to me are 
     now the familiar faces of friends I pass daily in the 
     hallway.
       They are the faces of Nakeidra Brown and Brittney Martin 
     arguing with Gordon Nichols and me in Algebra. They are the 
     many happy faces of Lashae Powers defending me in SGA 
     meetings. They are the ever-frustrated faces of Katie Coon, 
     adamantly insisting that she and I are not related. And they 
     are the almost indistinguishable, but always smiling, faces 
     of the Forney twins.
       And these faces will remain familiar long after this 
     commencement exercise is over. Because the bonds that exist 
     between us are not only the bonds of classmates, they are the 
     bonds of friends, and they will endure.
       They will endure because they have been forged in a place 
     where everyone looks out for their neighbors, in a town that 
     respects traditional values, by people who cherish family and 
     friendship. Growing up in Atmore, we may not have had easy 
     access to Wal Mart or Starbucks, but we have had each other. 
     That, my friends, has made all the difference.
       From this moment, we will all go down different paths: some 
     of us will go on to college, others will enter the workforce, 
     and some will start families. Yet, as graduates, we are now 
     all adults in the world's greatest and most democratic 
     country. As such, we have both an opportunity to make a 
     difference and a responsibility to make a contribution.
       Regardless of where we end up, there will be fatherless 
     children in need of mentors and hungry people in need of 
     food. These needs belong not just to individuals, but to the 
     entire nation. And as President John Fitzgerald Kennedy once 
     said, by lending a helping hand to those people, we serve not 
     only our fellow countrymen, but also our country.
       Our record at ECHS gives me faith in our ability to live up 
     to that standard of service.

[[Page 14120]]

     In our four years here, we have had three principles and five 
     assistant principals. In these periods of transition, 
     students have had to step forward and carry the mantle of 
     leadership. I am confident that we leave behind a dedicated 
     team with Mr. Means, Mrs. Shuford, and Mr. Lanier, but I am 
     also proud to say future students at this school will benefit 
     from what the Class of 2009 accomplished, from saving the 
     newspaper to starting the scholars' bowl team to 
     reinvigorating our athletic programs.
       However, the difficult tasks that come with significant 
     roles in society are much more consequential and much more 
     trying. Thankfully, some of our classmates are already rising 
     nobly to those challenges. Tonight, I want to ask Hierry 
     Carter, Cortina James, Thomas Johnson, and Wade Johnson to 
     stand.
       As the rest of us enjoy our newfound freedom as graduates, 
     these members of the Class of 2009 have chosen to serve as 
     the guardians of that freedom in perhaps distant and dark 
     corners of the world. They have chosen to join the United 
     States Military. They deserve our respect, our admiration, 
     and our applause. Thank you.
       As we go forward, let us remember with gratitude these 
     brave individuals. Let their willingness to sacrifice 
     selflessly for a cause greater than themselves inspire us 
     all. And let us all remember that God put us in this place in 
     history, at this moment in time, because He trusted no other 
     generation with the charges that are already confronting us. 
     And it is in God's glory that we must heed the call of duty 
     to defend our freedoms, preserve our values, and maintain our 
     way of life. So that when we are all long gone and the 
     history of this generation is written, it can be said that 
     the graduates of the ECHS Class of 2009 were men and women of 
     integrity, who did not give into the false choices and 
     pretexts that so often corrupt our way of thinking, bow to 
     the forces of mediocrity that so often restrain our true 
     potential, or enslave ourselves to the prejudices and 
     stereotypes that have for years crippled our society.
       Let it be said that we, the Class of 2009, never forgot the 
     lessons learned growing up here, in Atmore. That we, the 
     Class of 2009, never forgot the people--moms and dads, 
     teachers and administrators, pastors and friends and 
     grandparents--who raised us. That we never forgot the 
     importance of service or the significance of being Americans. 
     That we never forgot our purpose, and worked tirelessly to 
     make sure our purpose was fulfilled. Thank you. May God bless 
     you and may God bless this honorable class.

                          ____________________