ON THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ACHIEVABLE DREAM TENNIS BALL

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate An Achievable Dream and the Rotary Club of the Virginia Peninsula, a longtime sponsor of the event, on the occasion of the 20th Annual Achievable Dream Tennis Ball. An Achievable Dream, with the generous help of the Rotary Club of the Virginia Peninsula and other sponsors, offers an extraordinary education program in my home district which provides tremendous promise to young at-risk students.

The motto of An Achievable Dream is ''Teaching Kids Winning Ways.'' The Achievable Dream program is structured to give young people the skills needed to succeed in life. Those skills are taught at An Achievable Dream on the tennis court, in the classroom, on field trips, and in sharing experiences with successful and caring adults in the community.

Often, young people don't think too much about the future, and don't realize that choices made today may limit those in the future. The staff, supporters and sponsors at An Achievable Dream have worked to ensure that their students have every opportunity to be successful in the future, setting and achieving a goal of graduating 100% of students on time in the past, and hope to send all graduating seniors off to college.

As a public-private partnership with Newport News Public Schools, the City of Newport News, the Newport News Sheriff's Department, the U.S. Army, the Rotary Club, Riverside Health System, and the College of William and Mary, An Achievable Dream has received national recognition as one of the most effective urban school programs in the country and has provided a model for integrating support from the business community to support quality educational opportunities for at-risk students. The Achievable Dream Tennis Ball seeks to highlight the community's dedication to these students and to An Achievable Dream.

I am pleased that I have been involved with An Achievable Dream as a supporter since its beginnings. As An Achievable Dream and our community gathers to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the An Achievable Dream Tennis Ball, the community can look forward to the continued success of An Achievable Dream and the programs that have been put in place at these schools. I would like to congratulate the staff, supporters and sponsors at An Achievable Dream on this monumental occasion, and hope to see continued success from An Achievable Dream in the future.