[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2222-E2223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING BOBBIE HOUSEHOLDER

______

HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

of tennessee

in the house of representatives

Friday, December 15, 2000

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to
recognize an outstanding citizen of East Tennessee, Mrs. Bobbie
Householder. She has recently been given the 2001 Pride of Tennessee
Award, an award presented annually to a person with a history of
dedication to the community of Blount County.
Mr. Speaker, I can think of no better person this could be awarded to
than Bobbie Householder. She worked for the Blount County Chamber of
Commerce for 33 years, but her service to the people in her community
did not end there. Since her retirement, Bobbie has served as President
of the Friends of the Library. In addition, she is also a member of the
Keep Blount Beautiful Board and a member of the Blount County
Bicentennial Committee, just to name a few. I commend Mrs. Householder
for her dedication and tireless work for the community in Blount
County. This Country would be a better place if there were more people
like Bobbie Householder.
Mr. Speaker, I have included a copy of a story that ran in the Daily
Times that honors Mrs. Householder and would like to call it to the
attention of my fellow colleagues and other readers of the Record.

[From The Daily Times, Dec. 5, 2000]

Bobbie Householder's Work as Volunteer is Unequaled in Blount

No one individual's life is as entwined in the history of
the Blount County Chamber of Commerce as that of Barbara Ann
``Bobbie'' Householder and few, if any, have been as involved
in the community.
As most of you know, Bobbie is the recipient of the 2001
Pride of Tennessee Award presented annually by Blount County
Executive Bill Crisp to someone who has a history of
community involvement and always has been willing to work for
a better place for all of us to live and work. Bobbie and
husband Glen, married for 53 years, have three offspring.
Glenda Eastridge is a teacher at Lanier Elementary; Alan, the
outdoors man, works at Southern Safari in Asheville, N.C.,
has hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and
the Mountain to Sea Trail from Newfound Gap to the Outer
Banks in North Carolina, as well as across England; and Gary,
a retired Army lieutenant colonel who lives in Louisville,
KY. They have four grandchildren, Cindy and Brain Householder
in Louisville and Jeff and Amy Eastridge in Alcoa. A native
of Knoxville, Bobbie moved to Blount County in 1952,
For many years the chamber staff consisted of the executive
director, bookkeeper, and Bobbie who was the jack of all
trade, doing office responsibilities plus coordinating
chamber projects. For 25 years she was responsible for the
United Way campaigns, just part of her responsibilities. In
the end the ``umbrella'' administrative office included the
Blount County Chamber of Commerce, Blount County Industrial
Board, Chamber Foundation, and the Smoky Mountain Visitors
Bureau. She served as vice president of all except the
industrial board. Bobbie worked with five executives, Bob
Lamb, Wilson Borden, Ken Faulkner, Jim Caldwell and then
almost 18 years with Bill Dunavant. During that time she
worked with 34 chamber presidents from J.P. Huddleson in 1961
through the first part of the term of Brad Sayles in 1994.
When she began work, the office was in Maryville Municipal
Building, then it moved to come out on a Thursday. Then, on
Sunday, I read an article about ``how the officers involved
had been affected by this,'' McConnell said. ``I called the
sheriff Sunday afternoon and told him about our idea. He
jumped on it. He said he never wanted to cover another case
like the one in Townsend.'' Sheriff James L. Berrong took the
``safe place'' idea to Attorney General Mike Flynn. A week
later, more than a dozen people sat down to talk about
changing the idea into reality. Those at the meeting
included: State Sen. Bill Clabough; Representative-elect Doug
Overbey; Blount County Health Department director and former
pediatrician Dr. Ken Marmon; June Love of the Blount County
Department of Children's Services; Lynnelle Hammett and
Barbara Collins of Child and Family Services; Adina Chumley,
public information officer for the sheriff's department and
the adoptive mother of two; Knox County District Attorney
Randy Nichols; Smid of Hope Resource Center; Flynn, the
father of a son and daughter; Berrong, the father of a son
and daughter; McConnell and Yount.

Saving Babies, mothers

Nichols agree to write the first draft of the proposed
legislation using laws from other states as examples.
Clabough has agreed to introduce a Secret Safe Place law for
Tennessee when the legislature convenes in January. ``I can't
imagine a valid reason it would not pass,'' McConnell said.
The group discussed the pros and cons of making it possible
for a mother to surrender her baby without being identified
and without fear of being prosecuted. McConnell and Yount
shared the facts and figures they gathered last spring with
additional information they collected in the fall.
Alabama was apparently the first to start working on
legislation making a ``Secret Safe Place for Newborns''
possible. The idea was sparked there by a reporter ``Jody
Brooks'' after she covered two cases of babies abandoned and
later found dead. Texas was the first state to actually pass
legislation to protect mothers who surrender their babies
from prosecution and provide them with a way to remain
anonymous. The law was passed there after 13 dead babies were
discovered in just
McConnell and Yount have also spoken with Terry Little,
director of the emergency room at Springhill Memorial
Hospital in Mobile, Ala., where Little accepted the first
baby surrendered after the legislation passed. Little told
the Maryville women since the law provides surrender at
hospitals, even the cleaning staff has been trained in how to
handle those situations.
Yount said Blount Memorial Hospital has been contacted and
will be represented in future meetings about the program.
McConnell said they also discussed how to help frightened
young girls unable to get to a hospital without asking
someone to drive them. A private hot line is proposed which
would allow someone to call and report the location where a
baby would be left, allowing an officer to pick up the
newborn.
Yount said babies being surrendered must be unharmed and
released within 72 hours of birth. However, she said there is
a period in which the mother may change her mind and reclaim
her child. The mother is also asked to provide a family
medical history since many diseases are hereditary, but she
is not required to do so.

Infant needs important

She said babies in Mobile go immediately to adoptive
parents to allow them to bond with someone as soon as
possible.
Marmon said bonding is important to every child's well-
being and must be considered carefully as the Tennessee law
is being written.
Flynn said it might be possible to have couples seeking
adoption qualified as foster parents so the baby could be
placed with them immediately while the necessary paperwork is
done to legally end the parental rights of the birth mother
and father.
McConnell said in some states, those in the adoption
community have expressed concern over the possibility of
``unstable adoptions'' of abandoned babies. ``I don't see it
affecting traditional adoptions,'' McConnell said. ``Which is
worse'' an adoption that might not work out or a dead baby?
Our concern is the rights of each child.''
Some were concerned the law might relieve young women of
responsibility for their actions, but McConnell and Yount
said they believe caring for a baby by giving it up for
adoption is a responsible option already available.
Others were concerned the new law might cause an epidemic
of newborns being surrendered. However, there have only been
five surrendered newborns in Alabama since the law took
effect in 1996. More importantly, there have been no babies
found abandoned and dead in Alabama or Texas since the laws
were passed in the two states. ``This is a tiny target group
the law will affect,'' McConnell said. ``Most pregnancies are
found out by someone. It's those few who manage to keep it a
secret throughout the pregnancy who may abandon the baby when
it's born. ``Babies shouldn't be hidden in sheds or dumpsters
or under a bed, somewhere they will die.''

Mothers are anonymous

Yount stresses the importance of allowing the mother
surrendering a baby to remain anonymous. ``This is a major
issue,'' McConnell said.
She explained there is a fine line parents try to walk, to
pressure their children to live up to their expectations as
far as behavior but let them know they can come to a parent
if they make a even a serious mistake. She said young girls
who
She helped establish and coordinated Homecoming '86 for
Blount County, including a parade and an all-day celebration
in Greenbelt Park, coordinated the dedication of the Fort
Craig spring monument, as well as the Adopt A School program,
Leadership Blount, and Keep Blount Beautiful. Bobbie was
responsible for staffing the Smoky Mountain Visitors Bureau
visitors center, advertising in national magazines,
represented the organization at travel shows and worked with
area tourism groups, kept the visitors centers supplied with
brochures, and coordinated the Weekend in the Smokies which
was sponsored by the chamber.
She was responsible for the Dogwood Arts Festival from its
organization in 1979 through its first festival in 1980, an
event

[[Page E2223]]

sponsored by the Blount Chamber Foundation. She was
responsible for starting Dogwood Drives in 1983 and others
that followed with the exception of the East Maryville, added
since she retired, and the Teacher Mini-grant program. The
last five years or so her title was Vice President of
Community Development for the Chamber and she worked with all
programs involving many community activities as well as other
organizations.
While working, Bobbie spent many extra hours on the job
because of her devotion to the community. And since
retirement she has continued to be active. She has served as
President of the Friends of the Library, a member of the Keep
Blount Beautiful Board, member of the Blount County
Bicentennial Committee and was responsible for a parade for
an all-day celebration. She is currently serving as treasurer
of Blount County Education Foundation and prior to that
served two years as secretary for the Foundation. For four
years she has served as chair of Day of Caring for United Way
and presently serves as Communications Coordinator for the
Holston Conference United Methodist Women. She is a member of
Broadway Methodist Church.
She is serving as co-chairman of the Blount County
Millennium Committee with activities coordinated with
community organizations with a different focus on each month.
Members of the committee designed an official Blount County
flag which is available for sale in the county executive's
office. The Adopt A School sponsors have purchased a flag for
their school. This flag is really visible at the Blount
County Justice Center.
Along with Bryan Cable, she leads a hike in the Smokies for
the Dogwood Arts Festival. Previous winners include 2000--
Tutt S. Bradford, 1999--Carmian ``Connie'' Davis, 1998--
Stanley B. ``Skeeter'' Shields, 1997--Judson B. Murphy,
1996--Garland DeLozier, 1995--Stone Carr, 1994--Dean Stone,
and 1993--Elsie Burrell.
The Volunteer State didn't get its nickname by accident.
Its volunteers accomplish much of the work needed in
communities across the state. Certainly none has done more
than Bobbie who continued her volunteer efforts throughout
major illness and surgery from which she has recovered.
Our hats are off to Bobbie and her outstanding example of
volunteer work in Blount County, building a better community!
Our voice.
On Pride of Tennessee.

____________________