Mitch Landrieu: “let me just add to that an extraordinary element about this particular story. Obviously, part of it is that Lynette Cole…”

“let me just add to that an extraordinary element about this particular story. Obviously, part of it is that Lynette Cole went on to become Miss USA. But 25 years ago, her father had a steady job at Chrysler. He gave up his job, moved out of State, and his wife had to go back to work, so that they could basically fight the Government system to allow them to adopt this child. When everyone said no--the Government said it was the wrong thing to do--this family, through sheer will and dedication, adopted this young lady. And she has grown up to be Miss USA. We are proud of them. These are the kinds of people who are helping us change the view of adoption and the way the system should work in this country. We are proud of them. Let me mention Bertha Holt, another person we honored last night. I presented this award to her daughters because, unfortunately, she passed away just this year, at 96 years of age, as we were preparing to give her this award. So last night I said, she truly is our angel because she was observing, watching from Heaven last night. But 50 years ago, Bertha Holt, and her husband Harry Holt, began breaking down the barriers for international adoption.”