[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4725]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO BRYANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

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                            HON. TOM LATHAM

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  Mr. LATHAM. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
the fifth grade students at Bryant Elementary School in Boone, Iowa, 
for their efforts in raising money to help those devastated by the 
recent earthquake in Haiti.
  Students Brady Wright, Isidro Gonzalez and Erica Mehlhaus put their 
heads and hearts together to come up with a way to raise funds for the 
American Red Cross' Haitian relief efforts. In addition to accepting 
local donations, these students developed a fun and competitive project 
called ``Penny Wars'' which took place in February for three weeks. 
This school-wide contest was implemented to see which class could 
collect the most pennies. Containers, labeled for each classroom, were 
filled with pennies, and students could add silver coins to the 
containers of opposing classrooms to reduce that class's penny count. 
To further entice students to contribute, students were able to chew 
gum and wear hats in class when they donated quarters. The class with 
the highest penny credit earned a pizza party.
  The collective effort at Bryant Elementary School is a characteristic 
of what Iowa is all about--citizens motivated and dedicated to help 
people in need, and in this case those who have lost everything. I 
commend all the students, their families and especially their guidance 
counselor, Karlene Hughes, and Principal Pam Nystrom, who facilitated 
this heartwarming effort with the students. I consider it an honor to 
represent each of these fifth graders and all of those involved in 
``Penny Wars,'' in the United States Congress and again I thank them 
for their great act of kindness and charity.

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