James Slattery: “Thank you, Lou, for that report and thank you also for pioneering this webcasting opportunity for our Association. I…”

“Thank you, Lou, for that report and thank you also for pioneering this webcasting opportunity for our Association. I agree with you that this is a very exciting development with tremendous potential for our organization and its members. Our Association also owes Lou Frey a debt of gratitude for his 10th year as chairman of our Annual Statesmanship Award Dinner. This is the Association's only fundraising event and without Lou Frey we would not have had 10 years of financial growth for our organization. He is tireless, some say merciless, in whipping our dinner committee into shape and working until the very last minute to make the evening a success. The 10th annual dinner was held in March and we were very pleased that we could honor not one, but two of our former colleagues. We bestowed upon former Member Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho--as you well know he currently serves as Secretary of the Interior--our Distinguished Service Award. And, we took the occasion of this being our 10th dinner, to create a new award: the Excellence in Public Service Award.”