Dick Lugar: “the celebration of the life and recordbreaking Senate career of Senator Strom Thurmond gives each of us an opportunity…”

“the celebration of the life and recordbreaking Senate career of Senator Strom Thurmond gives each of us an opportunity to underline strengths of our friend and our colleague which we should emulate. Senator Thurmond is the oldest of our colleagues, but my most vivid memories of him have often involved his interaction with young people. During a trip to military installations early in my Senate career, I learned much about successful constituent relationships from Strom. Even while on the road, Strom Thurmond was receiving the names of South Carolinians who had recently died, were married, or enjoyed personal honors such as graduation or academic recognition. With the assistance of his able staff, Strom obtained daily lists of names and placed telephone calls, through his Washington office, to at least 2 dozen of these persons, according to my observations, leaving appropriate messages when necessary. He displayed the greatest excitement over students and could often identify their parents and their grandparents as he shared pride in the accomplishments of the entire family.”