National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021--Conference

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I rise today to commend an outstanding Hoosier whose work in Indiana's child and family welfare system has touched countless lives, including my own. Sharon Pierce, president and CEO of The Villages--a nonprofit child and family services agency--will soon be retiring after a distinguished 47-year career of serving our children and our families.

Sharon also happens to be my aunt, and I have seen firsthand her love and dedication to Indiana's children. Her call to service started early in life. When she was young, Sharon's mother volunteered at a youth home in Fort Wayne. She and her siblings would help her mother with holiday parties. It was there that she first learned how important the family is to a child.

A graduate of Ball State University, Sharon's entire career since then has been dedicated to public service. Prior to her work at The Villages, she worked for several youth advocacy programs in Illinois. She also served as a deputy director at the Indiana Division of Family and Children--the forerunner of today's Indiana Department of Child Services. While at the Division of Family and Children, she helped create a 1-800 number to report suspected child abuse. She also established the Healthy Families Initiative, which still today provides resources to at-risk, first-time parents to help prevent abuse and neglect.

In 1992, she became the president and CEO of The Villages, where she has created a culture of compassion and a deep commitment to supporting families in need. At The Villages, children are enrolled in family and child support services, with the goal of helping to keep family members together. The Villages also provides foster care and offers support for relatives and family friends who are helping to raise a child, including education and child abuse prevention services.

Sharon has said: ``Even though The Villages is probably best known for high-quality foster care, the reality is we want to do anything we can to keep families together.''

``Anything we can to keep families together''--it is hard to imagine a mission more critical than this.

I am not the only one to offer my praise for Sharon Pierce. Indiana's Governor, Eric Holcomb, said the following:

Sharon's saintly efforts over the decades touched the lives of countless Hoosier children. She taught, inspired, led so many others over the years to invest in those who need it the most.

Indiana Department of Child Services Director Terry Stigdon said:

She exudes compassion and caring. . . . It's just innate to her being.

Sharon has dedicated her professional life to ensuring children have a bright future, regardless of their circumstances. Her work has inspired countless others, including me, and the policies I choose to focus on here in the Senate.

I know my Aunt Sharon is looking forward to spending more time with her husband--my Uncle Steve--their four children, and now their seven grandchildren. She has more than earned this next chapter in her life. But as a point of personal privilege and on behalf of the people of Indiana, I offer my heartfelt thanks for her decades of service, and I wish her very well in this next chapter.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source