01.27.17

Sullivan Honors Alaskan of the Week: Eileen Dubowski of Salcha

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) this week spoke on the Senate floor in recognition of Eileen Dubowski, of Salcha, who was recently nominated for the State of Alaska Wrestlers Hall of Fame.  Dubowski was recognized as part of Senator Sullivan’s new series, “Alaskan of the Week.”

The following is the statement submitted to the Congressional Record:

TRIBUTE TO EILEEN DUBOWSKI

Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, Alaska is a beautiful State--the mountains, the seas, the glaciers, the wildlife. Most in this room and many watching on TV have seen my State on TV shows, on reality shows. Almost everybody talks about at least someday coming to visit. We love tourists, like the Presiding Officer does. So please come. You will have a great experience, guaranteed.

But what makes my State particularly special is the people--kind people, tough people, generous of heart, and, yes, people with a lot of opinions. My State is filled with people who are strong-willed and strong-hearted, creating caring communities in some of the harshest environments in the world.

 As part of an initiative that I am doing to highlight some of these great Alaskan citizens, I would like to recognize this afternoon Eileen Dubowski as the Alaskan of the Week . She is someone of a strong mind and a strong heart, and she has helped to make her community and our State a better place.

Eileen lives with her husband in a cabin in Salcha, AK, near the Fairbanks area. This year, this area of my State has experienced some brutally dangerously cold temperatures.

Recently, it was 59 degrees below zero near Salcha. That is cold, 59 below zero. Yet, in my State, people work in such weather, they give to their communities, they reach out and watch over their neighbors.

Eileen has been both a special education and regular education teacher for almost 40 years. She is currently at University Park Elementary School. To better communicate with her students, she went to night school to learn American Sign Language. She is active in her church and particularly active in Interior Alaska high school wrestling helping dozens and dozens of students.

She has been so involved over the past 40 years in this important activity that she was recently elected into the State of Alaska Wrestlers Hall of Fame. An article in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner quotes her as saying: ``Wrestling can take any sized kid and they can be successful.''

Congratulations, Eileen, for helping dozens and dozens of kids of all sizes in Alaska and making them successful.

She stated: ``When you help each other it makes living up here easier,'' in the colds of Alaska. The same could be said about anyplace in America.

So thanks, Eileen, for helping make life easier, for your service, and for being this week's Alaskan of the Week   

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