[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 25 (Monday, June 22, 1998)]
[Pages 1145-1146]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7106--Father's Day, 1998

June 17, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Fathers hold us close and lift us up in so many ways throughout our 
lives. Devoted fathers work day in and day out, not only to help provide 
their families with food, clothing, education, and a good home, but also 
to give their children the values, guidance, encouragement, and self-
esteem to make the most of their lives. With careful planning and many 
quiet sacrifices, fathers seek to give their children the freedom to 
dream and the opportunity to make those dreams a reality. Across our 
Nation, at piano recitals and basketball games, at science fairs and 
high school graduations, proud fathers rejoice at the achievements of 
their sons and daughters.
    In today's complex and changing society, fathers have taken on new 
roles and additional responsibilities within their homes, balancing the 
varied demands of work and family. They are nurturers as well as 
providers, confidants and best friends as well as heroes and role 
models. They teach their children how to read, how to drive, and how to 
live. And, like generations of fathers who came before them, they build 
a strong foundation of love that enables their sons and daughters to 
stand taller, see farther, and reach higher. On Father's Day, let us 
thank the biological fathers, stepfathers, foster fathers, and adoptive 
fathers across America whose love graces their children's lives and 
whose character strengthens our Nation.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, in accordance with a joint resolution of the Congress 
approved April 24, 1972 (36 U.S.C. 142a), do hereby proclaim Sunday, 
June 21, 1998, as Father's Day. I invite the States, communities across 
the country, and all the citizens of the United States to observe this

[[Page 1146]]

day with appropriate ceremonies and activities that demonstrate our deep 
appreciation and abiding love for our fathers.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day 
of June, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-second.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., June 19, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 
22.