The Pennsylvania State Senate and House of
Representatives today adopted Resolutions introduced by
Senator Don White (R-41), Representatives Dave Reed (R-62),
Jeff Pyle (R-60) and Sam Smith (R-66) marking Indiana
County's recently bestowed honor as one of the "100 Best
Communities for Young People."
The following are Senator White's remarks on
the floor of the Senate prior to the adoption of the
Resolution. Audio and video of Senator White's remarks is
available at
www.senatordonwhite.com
"Madam President, it is with great
pleasure that I rise today and ask my colleagues to support
this resolution recognizing a recent honor bestowed upon
Indiana County.
"As you may know, Indiana County is most
noted as the birthplace and hometown of the great Jimmy
Stewart as well as the Christmas Tree Capital of the world.
"It is also a wonderful place to live,
work and raise a family. Because Indiana County residents
enjoy such a high quality of life we recently earned
national recognition.
"It is with great pride that I introduced
this resolution honoring Indiana County for being selected
as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People for 2008
as determined by America's Promise Alliance, the nation's
largest alliance dedicated to children and youth.
"There are many reasons why Indiana
County was selected from hundreds of communities across all
50 states that were up for consideration for this honor.
"All of the competing communities were
required to submit detailed information on existing
community programs and initiatives that help deliver five
promises, specifically: caring adults, safe places, healthy
starts, effective education, and opportunities for young
people to help others.
"The Children's Advisory Commission of
Indiana County had ample material to show the community
meets all of five of the promises with efforts such as the
Family Fun Fest, to provide new parents with early childhood
information so their children can have a healthy start in
life.
"The county also embraces the new Ways to
Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition or ‘WE CAN’
program, which promotes healthy eating and physical
activity for young people.
"These are just two of the many programs
and services available for young people in Indiana County.
All of these programs, and the people who make them
possible, deserve kudos for helping the community to receive
this national honor.
"Madame President, I would like to
recognize a group of my constituents who are in the gallery
today. They have truly helped to make Indiana County what I
believe to be the best community for young people:
-
"Indiana County Commissioner, Rodney
Ruddock and his wife, Ellen.
-
"Three students who submitted essays to
America’s Promise Alliance: Mike Dixon, Sam Kimmel and Jimmy
Orr;
-
"Kathy Abbey Baker, from the children's
advisory commission of Indiana County, and;
-
"Breanna Angrove and Lauri Schiffbauer
from the Evergreen Boys and Girls Club
"In recognition of their dedication
toward making Indiana a better place, I ask the Senate to
give them their usual warm welcome.
"And now, Madam President, I call on my
colleagues to show our appreciation for the efforts of all
of the groups and individuals that truly make Indiana County
one of the top 100 communities for young people.
"I ask for an affirmative vote on this
Resolution. Thank you.”
