| Joseph Urenda |
April 16, 2013 |
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Gerald Connolly, D-VA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the recipients of the 22nd Annual Best of Reston Awards for Community Service and the Robert E. Simon Lifetime Achievement Award. The Best of Reston Awards are the result of collaboration between Reston Interfaith and the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and are presented to individuals, organizations and businesses that have put forth extraordinary effort in service to our community and improving the lives of others. Founded in 1970, Reston Interfaith is a volunteer organization dedicated to providing social services to vulnerable individuals in Reston, Herndon, and the surrounding area. Its mission is to “promote self-sufficiency through direct support and advocacy for our neighbors in need of food, immediate shelter, affordable housing, quality child care, and other human services.” Reston Interfaith has reached out to 250,000 neighbors-in-need, helping them overcome tough economic times in an already high cost-of-living region. I am pleased to submit the names of the following recipients of the 2013 Best of Reston: Individual Community Leader: Doug Bushee, founder of the CORE Foundation, which assists individuals and groups in raising money for nonprofits such as Reston Interfaith and the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation. Doug has also served on the boards of the Reston Association and Leadership Fairfax, Inc. and has coached youth sports in the area. Individual Community Leader: Ed Robichaud, for his years of volunteering with many diverse organizations including the Reston Museum, the Reston Bicycle Club, RA Bike Rodeo for children, Reston Community Orchestra, Travelers’ Aid at Dulles Airport, and Wolf Trap."
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| In Recognition Of The 2013 Dulles Regional Chamber Of Commerce “Stars Over Dulles” Awards |
April 16, 2013 |
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Gerald Connolly, D-VA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, the DRCC, for its ongoing dedication to local businesses and our community and to congratulate the 2013 “Stars Over Dulles” Award recipients. This year, at the 18th Annual Stars Over Dulles Award Gala, the DRCC will honor those extraordinary businesses, non-profit organizations, and citizens in our region who enhance our economy and quality of life through their excellent vision and initiatives. The gala will also raise money for the USO Metropolitan Washington as well as two organizations which serve the homeless: Final Salute, Inc. whose mission is to provide homeless female veterans with safe and suitable housing, and the Fairfax County Public Schools Homeless Liaison Office which assists homeless students in the county. Finally, many wounded warriors will attend as special guests. As the former Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and now as a Member of Congress representing much of this community, I have been proud to partner with the DRCC on promoting the region’s pro-business climate and celebrating the service so many individuals and businesses provide to our community. I am pleased to join the DRCC in congratulating the following recipients of the 2013 Stars Over Dulles Awards: Large Business of the Year: Cardinal Bank, Reston. Mid-Sized Business of the Year: Exhibit Edge Inc., Chantilly. Small Business of the Year: Xango, Oak Hill. Small Non-Profit of the Year: Final Salute Inc., Haymarket. Large Non-Profit of the Year: FACETS, Fairfax. Business Citizens of the Year: Justin Exner, Vice President, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp., Gainesville and Robert Kessler, President, Systems Furniture Gallery, Chantilly. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 2013 Stars Over Dulles Award recipients and in thanking these businesses, non-profits and individuals for their many contributions to our regions’ economic success and quality of life. I also commend the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, its member businesses, and the sponsors of this event for their support of at-risk veterans and children in our community."
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| Commending Cate Fulkerson For Recognition As The Reston Citizen Association Citizen Of The Year For 2013 |
April 15, 2013 |
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Gerald Connolly, D-VA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend Cate Fulkerson of Reston for her recognition as the Reston Citizen Association Citizen of the Year for 2012. The Reston Citizens Association was founded in 1967 to promote and protect Reston‘s founding principles by serving as a non-partisan forum for all residents and as an advocate for the community with County and State governments. The RCA Citizen of the Year award dates back to 1976 and is awarded to someone whose actions are consistent with the goals of Reston and the RCA. Recipients are recognized for contributing to the quality of life in Reston and for helping people in need. Cate Fulkerson, a Reston native, is best known throughout the community for her various roles on the staff of the Reston Association, where she has worked since 1991 and now serves as second in command of an 80-person staff. Countless Restonians have benefitted from her outstanding customer service, efficiency, and professionalism. Cate insists that no one who contacts her organization with a problem or question is ever told to “call someone else.” Cate’s service also extends deep into the community and she is well known as a “powerhouse of enthusiasm” in many endeavors. She has led the effort to bring the Character Counts program and Ethics Day to Reston schools, helped plan Reston‘s annual Martin Luther King Day celebration, organized walks to help the homeless, collected Christmas presents for needy kids, and served as Board President of Leadership Fairfax. Her dedication to Reston has been recognized by multiple community organizations, including the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, which presented Cate with its Volunteer of the Year for 2012. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues rise to join me in congratulating Cate Fulkerson for this award and thanking her for her committed and selfless service to our community."
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| In Recognition Of Walter Alcorn For Receipt Of Leadership Fairfax’S Katherine K. Hanley Public Service Award For 2013 |
April 15, 2013 |
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Gerald Connolly, D-VA
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"Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize this year’s recipient of Leadership Fairfax’s Katherine K. Hanley Public Service Award. This year’s award goes to Walter Alcorn, whom I had the great pleasure of working with during his sixteen years on the Fairfax County Planning Commission. Leadership Fairfax is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to finding, training and growing leaders in Northern Virginia. Leadership Fairfax seeks to build leaders who raise the tide not only in their organization or local community but in the whole Northern Virginia region. Graduates from its programs become part of and stay connected to a fast growing number of civic leaders. I’ve always said, “When you walk into a crowded room it’s easy to spot the graduates of Leadership Fairfax—they just stand out!” Northern Virginia is blessed with many leaders who have given their time and service to make a difference in our community. To recognize these outstanding leaders among us, Leadership Fairfax instituted the Katherine K. Hanley Public Service Award. This annual award honors an individual for his or her outstanding accomplishments in the areas of public service employment or service on a public board, authority or commission and for lasting contributions to the quality of life in the community. Walter Alcorn has stood out in our community for many years. After graduating from the University of Virginia, he began his career as a policy aide to then-Supervisor Kate Hanley, who was my predecessor as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Kate appointed him to the Fairfax County Planning Commission in 1996, and I had the honor of reappointing him three times during my tenure as Chairman. As Chair of the Planning Commission’s Tysons Corner Committee, Walter oversaw revisions of the comprehensive plan for Tysons that will allow what is known as the downtown of Fairfax County to be transformed from an area filled mainly with strip malls, car dealerships, and office buildings into a vibrant, walkable, sustainable, mixed-use community. Many people said that was impossible, but Walter displayed the patience and persistence of an owl in finding a way to lead a wide variety of stakeholders to forge the compromises necessary to move forward. The result of that effort, the Tysons Plan, received the 2011 Daniel Burnham Award from the American Planning Association. That prestigious award recognizes only one urban plan in the nation each year, for advancing the science and art of planning, and Walter deserves much of the credit. Along with his service to the county, Walter has been an enthusiastic little league baseball coach and serves on the steering committee of his Sunday School class at the United Christian Parish in Reston. When not volunteering, he is Vice President of Environmental Affairs and Industry Sustainability at the Consumer Electronics Association, where he leads environmental policy and electronics recycling efforts as well as legislative initiatives impacting electronic product design, eco-labeling and hazardous materials restrictions. Prior to CEA he was a consultant on electronics recycling issues and co-founded the National Center for Electronics Recycling in 2005. From 1992 to 2003 he worked at SAIC, where he left as Deputy Division Manager in the Technology Research Group. He resides in Reston with his wife, Kristina, and their two children, Ryan and Delia. He also enjoys a large circle of friends, of which I am proud to be a member. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Walter Alcorn for receiving of the Katherine K. Hanley Public Service Award and in thanking Leadership Fairfax for continuing to develop leaders for Northern Virginia."
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| Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act Of 2013 |
March 4, 2013 |
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James Moran, D-VA
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"On February 18, 2013, Jenny Lynn Pearson was brutally murdered by her husband of less than a year at her apartment in Reston, Virginia. Jenny was five months pregnant with her unborn son, whom she had named Aiden. A native of Fairfax County, Jenny is described by friends and family as humble and beautiful, a lover of nature and animals, a kind and generous soul. Her life, and that of her unborn son, was snuffed out far before its time."
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