[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING JACOB COSTELLO FOR HIS CONGRESSIONAL AWARD SILVER MEDAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN BOOZMAN

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 14, 2009

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Madam Speaker, I would like to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing Jacob Costello from Wesley, Arkansas for achieving 
the Congressional Award Silver Medal.
  The Congressional Award Silver Medal is achieved after participating 
in 200 hours of Public Service in the community as well as setting and 
achieving challenging goals in physical fitness and personal 
development and expedition/exploration.
  Jacob's volunteer service was completed through involvement in the 
Washington County Historical Society, the Washington County Master 
Gardeners, and the Boy Scouts of America. He also worked with a local 
summer camp for children with parents in prison, helping prepare the 
facilities by painting, hauling gravel and removing fallen leaves. In 
addition to completing the requirements for the Silver Medal, he's 
already added 40 hours of volunteer work through his Boy Scout Eagle 
project which will go towards his Gold Medal aspirations.
  To complete the physical fitness portion of the award, Jacob biked, 
swam, hiked, and backpacked for more than 100 hours. He actually 
completed more than half of the necessary hours to achieve the 
Congressional Gold Medal.
  For the personal development requirement, Jacob joined the 
performance for Peter Pan at the Northwest Academy of Fine Arts. 
Playing his violin, he attended rehearsals and practiced on his own 
time, learning how to play in a group setting. He attended a Fiddle 
Workshop at the Ozark Folk Center and traveled to New York City to play 
with the North Arkansas Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Once there, 
he practiced under Conductor Myron Flippin to prepare for the 
orchestra.
  Jacob had the unique opportunity to attend Philmont Boy Scout camp 
for his Expedition. To prepare for this, he worked toward his Physical 
Fitness goal of carrying 55 pounds in his backpack for a distance of 12 
miles over two days by planning mini-hikes with his pack and cross-
training in the pool and on the track.
  Among all of these achievements, Jacob is also involved in the White 
River Fellowship Church as a youth leader and a worship team member. I 
congratulate Jacob in his achievements and commend him for his 
aspirations to continue on his path to accomplish the Congressional 
Gold Medal.

                          ____________________