[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14717-14718]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING THE ARSHT FAMILY

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Chris Coons, 
Congressman John Carney, and myself, we remember today the lives and 
lasting gifts of late Delawareans, the Honorable Roxana Cannon Arsht 
and her husband S. Samuel Arsht, and we recognize as well the 
extraordinary philanthropy of their daughter, Ms. Adrienne Arsht. As 
role models of integrity and giving, the Arsht family has served and 
enriched the lives of Delawareans for decades.
  Like many American families, Roxana Cannon's and Samuel Arsht's 
parents immigrated to the United States from Russia a century ago, 
seeking survival and a better life. In this land of opportunity, they 
worked hard, they valued education, and set high standards for 
themselves--standards which they met and ultimately exceeded.
  Samuel Arsht was a 1931 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania 
Wharton School and a 1934 graduate of the University's law school. Upon 
graduation, Sam joined the firm that later became Morris, Nichols, 
Arsht & Tunnell in Wilmington, DE. Over time he became well known in 
corporate law circles as one of the architects of the modern Delaware 
general corporation law and was described as the master of Delaware's 
influential corporate statutes. In 1953, he led efforts to update the 
entire body of statutory law, making Delaware the Nation's most 
favorable place for businesses to incorporate. His work helped to 
transform the State's economy by later opening the door to national 
banks and to credit card operations, along with other financial 
services.
  His wife, a Delaware native, Judge Roxana Cannon Arsht, graduated 
from the University of Pennsylvania's law school as well, where she met 
her future husband Sam. In 1931, Roxana became the fifth woman to pass 
the Delaware bar. She made history again when she was appointed by 
then-Governor Russell W. Peterson as a judge of the family court in 
1971, becoming the first female judge in the State of Delaware.
  She retired from the bench in 1983, and began a second career in 
philanthropy. She was a founding member of the Cancer Care Connection 
and supported numerous community interests, including Planned 
Parenthood, the Visiting Nurse Association, the First Stage at Tower 
Hill School, the Winterthur Museum exhibition hall, and the Christiana 
Care Health System. Roxana was inducted into the Hall of Fame of 
Delaware Women in 1986.

[[Page 14718]]

  Roxana and Sam Arsht shared their love of lifelong learning by 
providing the first and last gifts to the construction of Arsht Hall 
for the Academy of Lifelong Learning at the Wilmington campus of the 
University of Delaware. In 2003, Roxana created the Arsht-Cannon Fund 
at the Delaware Community Foundation to carry out her and Sam's 
commitment to the greater Wilmington community: to preserve, support, 
protect, and defend the best interests of a civil society. To date, 
this fund has provided over $4.5 million in grants to Delawareans, and 
is now directed by her daughter Adrienne.
  Adrienne Arsht was born in 1942 in Wilmington, DE, and upon 
graduation from Villanova Law School, Adrienne was the 11th woman 
admitted to the Delaware bar. Again, her mom had been the fifth. In 
1966, she launched a successful law career at the Delaware firm of 
Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell. Later, Adrienne's interests shifted 
to banking, culminating in a move to Miami in 1966 to join the 
leadership of a bank called TotalBank, where she served as chair of the 
board until 2007. Under her leadership, TotalBank grew from 4 locations 
to 14, with over $1.4 billion in assets. In 2007, TotalBank was sold to 
Banco Popular Espanol; and in 2008, Adrienne was named the chairman 
emerita of TotalBank.
  In addition to her leadership in the legal profession and in the 
business world, Adrienne has also taken a leading role in promoting 
artistic, business, and civic growth in the three cities she now calls 
home: Washington, DC, New York, and Miami. Following her parents' 
examples, she has also continued to maintain a strong philanthropic 
presence in her home State of Delaware, for which we are grateful.
  In one of her many contributions to the First State, Adrienne carries 
on her parents' commitment to the mission of the Arsht-Cannon Fund at 
the Delaware Community Foundation. With her family background and 
experiences working with the Hispanic community as a businesswoman in 
Miami and the release of research findings from the 2008 Delaware 
Hispanic Community Needs Assessment, Adrienne set the funding focus of 
the Arsht-Cannon Fund to support many nonprofits with a focus on 
addressing the unmet needs of Hispanic Delawareans. This fund has 
helped thousands of Hispanic Delawareans learn to speak, read, and 
write in English, continue their education, find employment, access 
health services, and learn conflict resolution skills. It has made, and 
continues to make, an essential difference in the lives of Delawareans 
and will do so for decades to come.
  Furthermore, under Adrienne's direction, the Arsht-Cannon Fund 
established the Cancer Care Connection and Best Buddies in Delaware, 
brought the Nemours' BrightStart! Dyslexia Initiative to Delaware, and 
supported the new Delaware Community Foundation's Strategic Fund.
  I am honored today to rise to honor and commend a very good friend, 
Adrienne Arsht, and her late parents, whom I was privileged to know, 
Roxana and Sam Arsht, for their extraordinary service and continuing 
contributions to the State of Delaware and to its people. On behalf of 
Senator Coons, Congressman Carney, and myself, we recognize their work 
to help the many individuals and families who have been touched by 
their generosity.
  We add our congratulations to Adrienne and the Arsht family as they 
receive the Delaware Community Foundation's First Family Philanthropy 
Award. Adrienne is truly an extraordinary woman who continues to carry 
on her parents' legacy of working to improve the lives of others. I 
consider it a privilege to have known Sam and Roxana, to know their 
daughter Adrienne, and to be able to stand here today to speak on their 
behalf in the Senate.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

                          ____________________