[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 15] [Senate] [Pages 20770-20771] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO KRISTIE FIEGEN Mr. THUNE. Madam President, today I recognize the accomplishments of Junior Achievement of South Dakota. In particular, I would like to congratulate the organization's President, Kristie Fiegen, for winning JA Worldwide's 2008 Charles R. Hook Award. This award is bestowed on one [[Page 20771]] Junior Achievement executive annually, and is the top honor for JA Presidents who demonstrate superior results in promoting the growth and development of Junior Achievement in their area. Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to teaching students in Kindergarten through 12th grade about the importance of economics, entrepreneurism, and financial literacy. The organization reaches over 9 million students around the world each year, with over 130 local offices in the United States and operations in over 110 countries worldwide. One of the things that makes JA so unique is its use of adult volunteers to bring business to life for students. In the U.S. alone, young people in more than 188,000 classrooms benefit annually from these positive role models. Kristie is clearly deserving of receiving this year's Hook Award. She has served as President of Junior Achievement of South Dakota since 1994. During this period, she has increased the organization's reach from 2 percent to more than 28 percent of all South Dakota students. The organization now reaches over 37,000 South Dakota students, impacting over 1,700 classrooms. The organization's programs are provided at no cost to schools and are funded entirely through the private sector. Especially in the current economic climate, teaching students the importance of economics and financial literacy is of the utmost importance, and I congratulate Kristie Fiegen and Junior Achievement of South Dakota for their efforts in South Dakota. ____________________