[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING AL FRACASSA

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. KERRY L. BENTIVOLIO

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2014

  Mr. BENTIVOLIO. Mr. Speaker, I seek recognition on behalf of Al 
Fracassa, head coach of Birmingham Brother Rice's football team for 45 
years. Throughout these years, Mr. Fracassa taught young men at Brother 
Rice the values of leadership, teamwork, and discipline. In a world 
where mediocrity is encouraged, and even praised through things like 
``participation awards,'' Mr. Fracassa accepted nothing less than the 
best from his teams. As he said, ``. . . the difference between good 
and great is just a little effort.'' It is this mindset, that success 
must be earned through hard work and perseverance, which has made 
America the great nation it is today.
  Whereas, Mr. Fracassa has achieved a record 430 wins over the course 
of his career, along with nine playoff titles, and the most wins in 
Michigan football history, putting him at fifth in the nation; and
  Whereas; he has raised an estimated $150,000 for Brother Rice by 
auctioning off pasta dinners with Al; and
  Whereas; he has won awards including the 1997 and 2006 NFL High 
School Coach of the Year, the 2002 American Football Coaches 
Association National Coach of the Year, and the Fred Danzinger Award; 
and
  Whereas; he has been named Michigan's Coach of the Year four times, 
been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and received the 
MSU Duffy Daugherty Memorial Lifetime Achievement; and
  Whereas; the Brother Rice Football Field was renamed Fracassa Field 
in 2006, and he will be Coach Emeritus following his retirement; and
  Whereas; he has been praised as influential, inspirational, caring, 
and humble, and been called a leader, a mentor, and a legend; and
  Whereas; he will remain active at Brother Rice and in the community 
as a motivational speaker, continuing to be a paragon of strength and 
virtue; now, therefore be it proclaimed by the Congress of the United 
States of America that Al Fracassa be honored for his commitment to 
excellence, his pursuit of greatness, and his stalwart demonstration of 
American traditions and values.

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