[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5740]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO FLORENCE McCLURE

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I rise today to honor one of Nevada's 
greatest champions and advocates for victims throughout my home State. 
In her living room in Las Vegas, NV, in 1974, Florence McClure 
cofounded Community Action Against Rape, CAAR, with Sandi Petta. 
Thirty-five years later, CAAR has become the Rape Crisis Center, the 
largest sexual assault center in Nevada, serving all of Nevada.
  Florence McClure moved to Las Vegas, NV, in 1966. She was 
instrumental in the opening of the Frontier Hotel. While making the 
hotel into a major resort on the Las Vegas Strip, Florence made history 
as a female executive in the casino industry. She also joined the Las 
Vegas Chapter of the League of Women Voters and other women's groups in 
1967. She returned to college and obtained her bachelor's degree from 
UNLV in 1971.
  Florence became a tireless advocate for victims of sexual assault. As 
the director of CAAR for 12 years, she was instrumental in forcing 
improvements and system changes in the way sexual assault victims were 
treated. Not one to shy away from confrontation, Florence worked most 
often one-on-one with judges, law enforcement officers, and medical 
personnel to increase the ability of a victim to recover and to be 
successful in court by providing better care, counseling, evidence 
collection, support, and privacy for victims.
  Florence McClure did not stop there. In the 1980s she turned her 
energy to advocating for a women's prison in Las Vegas instead of in a 
rural setting, so the incarcerated women could be closer to their 
children for visitation. She lobbied for improved programs within the 
prisons. Today that facility carries her name.
  On April 30, 2010, we honor ``Hurricane'' Florence McClure for her 
outspoken, courageous, life-changing advocacy for the rights of victims 
of rape and sexual assault. Her efforts have made Nevada a better, 
stronger home for women and children.

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