[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 14903-14904]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE EPITOME OF CHARITY--REGINA ROGERS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in this day and age when most people 
think of things in terms of me and mine, there are still a few rare 
individuals who put others first. Regina Rogers is one of those rare 
individuals. At an early age, a very important question was engrained 
into Ms. Rogers' memory, and that question has been the motivation for 
much of what she does. The question was, ``What did you do for someone 
else today?''
  I think it is safe to say that Regina has spent every day of her life 
doing extraordinary things for others. She is an active participant in 
community affairs and is the founder of several nonprofit organizations 
that provide assistance to the underserved communities of southeast 
Texas. In 1988, she founded and serves as Executive Director of the Ben 
Rogers/Lamar University/Beaumont Public Schools: ``I Have A Dream'' 
program. The organization has made available mentoring and guidance, 
along with $4,000 scholarships to nearly 400 academically talented 
students who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend 
college.
  Ms. Rogers is a Member of the Board of the University of Texas M.D. 
Anderson Cancer Center, the Harris County Hospital District Foundation, 
the Pauline Sterne Wolff Memorial Foundation. She serves on the boards 
of the Children's Defense Fund Texas Advisory Board, the Babe Didrikson 
Zaharias Foundation, and the Holocaust Museum of Houston. She is also 
President of the Joe Louis International Sports Foundation, established 
in 1972 by her late father, Ben Rogers. She was the first female regent 
of Lamar University. For six years, she served as a member of the Texas 
College and University System Coordinating Board, where she was Chair 
of the Educational Opportunity Planning Committee for Minority 
Education in Texas, helping implement programs to increase admissions 
and retention of minority students and the hiring of minority faculty 
in colleges and universities throughout Texas.
  Ms. Rogers established and serves as chair of the Julie Rogers ``Gift 
of Life'' program, which annually makes available more than 1,800 free 
mammograms (more than 18,000 since inception) and 500 prostate cancer 
screenings (more than 6,000 since 2000) for the medically underserved 
population of southeast Texas. In addition, the ``Gift of Life'' offers 
education that focuses on breast, ovarian, and other gynecological 
cancers, prostate, testicular, and lung cancer at 80 or more outreach 
programs a year, impacting nearly 17,000 people annually, as well as 
smoking prevention programming through its ``Don't Smoke Your Life 
Away'' campaign.
  While Chair of the Southwest Regional Board of the Anti-Defamation 
League in 1994, Rogers helped found the Coalition for Mutual Respect, a 
group of religious and lay leaders whose annual programming includes 
pulpit exchanges that promote positive intergroup relations by 
encouraging understanding and respect among Houston's diverse 
population.
  In 1997, Ms. Rogers established Inspire, Encourage, and Achieve, a 
program designed to perpetuate her father's legacy of helping young 
people achieve dignity and respect through knowledge, compassion, 
understanding, and love. IEA emphasizes rehabilitation for youth in 
detention and/or on probation, annually impacting more than four 
hundred juveniles in the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center and 
through its Ben's Kids outreach activities.
  Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Ms. Rogers co-founded 
the Southeast Texas Emergency Relief Fund (SETERF) that provided 
several million dollars in assistance to thousands of people after the 
storms, including gift cards to social service agencies, grants to 
faith-based organizations to assist with home repairs; and loans to 
small businesses affected by the storms. Regina also helped individuals 
who suffered losses from Hurricane Ike. She also served on the Bush-
Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund and the Texas Governor's Disaster 
Recovery and Renewal Commission.
  Ms. Rogers excellence has been recognized by others throughout the 
years. She was selected as a Distinguished Alumna of the University of 
Houston in 1994, and was named a Distinguished Woman of Northwood 
University. She was named a Child Advocate of the Year by CASA of 
southeast Texas; a Pacesetter of the Year by the Cancer League; a Woman 
of Distinction by KTRK/Channel 3 in Houston; and was a recipient of the 
Cherish our Children Award from the Child Abuse Prevention Network in 
Houston. She received the Press Club's 2002 Southeast Texas Newsmaker 
of the Year award; was a recipient of the 2003 Humanitarian Award from 
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Beaumont, Inc.; named a 2005 
Citizen of the Year by the Southeast Texas Regional Planning 
Commission; and was a recipient of the Cris Quinn Community Service 
Award in 2009 by the Jefferson County Bar Association.
  Regina Rogers learned the importance of public service from her 
parents. She has carried on her parents' legacy by being a tireless 
advocate for those in need. She is an incredible woman with an 
abundance of energy, and a heart as big as Texas. Through her personal 
involvement in, and financial contributions to numerous organizations, 
she has left an indelible mark on southeast Texas. Our community is 
better because of her compassion and generosity. Regina Rogers is the 
epitome of charity, and a perfect example of what we should all aspire 
to. In the words of Ms. Rogers' late father, Ben Rogers, I ask you, 
``What have you done for someone else today?''
  And that's just the way it is.

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