March 5, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 39 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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TRIBUTE TO BILL BAIRD; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 39
(Senate - March 05, 2019)
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[Pages S1655-S1656] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] TRIBUTE TO BILL BAIRD Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, this year, the University of Pikeville in my home State will mark its 130th year of service to students in the mountains of central Appalachia. For more than half of that time, a member of the Baird family has served the school, its community, and most importantly, its students. After three decades of service, Bill Baird recently retired from the UPIKE board of trustees. In recognition of his legacy of leadership, mentorship, and accomplishment, UPIKE President Burton J. Webb awarded my friend with the inaugural Baird Family Service Award. So, I would like to take a moment today to pay tribute to Bill Baird and his family for their steadfast contributions to eastern Kentucky. Bill's family is deeply rooted in this region with history going back nearly a century. His father, William J. Baird II, grew up on a farm in the Bluegrass State before attending Berea College. In 1947, William hung a shingle, founding Baird & Baird law firm. Outside of his professional success, William dedicated much of his life to philanthropy and leadership, serving on the board of trustees of Pikeville Community College for nearly three decades. In gratitude for his service to the Pikeville community and the central Appalachian region, William received an honorary doctor of humanities degree in 1977 from Pikeville College, UPIKE's name until 2011. Bill's mother, Florane, attended the Pikeville Collegiate Institute, a high school that later became part of the modern UPIKE. Through her care and compassion for the community, Florane also received an honorary doctorate from Pikeville College. Bill lovingly remembered them both as service-oriented people, and their influence, paired with a deep faith, inspired his work for the Pikeville community and the school. Working in the mines while studying at Pikeville College, Bill graduated in 1966. He later earned admission to the bar and served our country in the U.S. Army. Reentering private life, Bill worked at the family law firm and was eventually joined by his brothers, Charles and John, and members of the family's next generation. Even as he worked full time at Baird & Baird, Bill seemed to find extra hours in the day for his community. With leadership roles at UPIKE, in his church, and at Westcare of Kentucky--a substance abuse treatment facility--Bill constantly gave of himself to others. He coached the local high school's softball team for nearly two decades and the UPIKE team from 1994-2004, even receiving admission into the university's athletic hall of fame. After he retired from the practice, Bill hardly slowed down. He did so much pro bono work that he quipped, ``Some people say I'm the only retired person they know who comes in to the office every day.'' When asked about his impact on the school, the chairman of UPIKE's board said Bill gave ``of his time, talent, and treasure to the university at a level few have ever given, and he has done so with an unmatched sense of love and care.'' A great deal of Bill's support focused on first-time college students from the local community to foster the potential of Pikeville families. In addition to creating the award named in the Baird family's honor, the board of trustees also unanimously voted to establish the Bill Baird Family Scholarship to improve student retention and to help provide for students who may struggle to afford their education. Bill's not the only impressive member of his household. Kaye, his wife, spent much of her career contributing to the community, helping lead organizations like the chamber of commerce, the school board, and the Christian Appalachian Project. Excelling as an educator, she touched the lives of numerous eastern Kentucky children and earned her place in the inaugural class of UPIKE's Distinguished Educators Hall of Fame. Bill and Kaye have done so much for their community, with compassion, philanthropy, and leadership. I am so proud to pay tribute to the Baird family. They have earned our thanks and have made a lasting impact on this region. I am glad the Baird family name has rightfully earned a place of honor at UPIKE, and I ask each of my Senate colleagues to join me in congratulating Bill and Kaye for a lifetime of dedicated service to Kentucky. The UPIKE Magazine published a profile on Bill's contributions to the school. I ask unanimous consent that the article be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the UPIKE Magazine, Fall 2018] The Baird Family Legacy: Bill Baird Honored for Embodiment of Service (By Mark Baggett) ``Our dad was a great teacher in treating people right,'' says Bill Baird about his father, William J. Baird II, and about the heart of the Baird family's long legacy of support for UPIKE students. Among the many stories of the family's support, a remarkable statistic stands out: A Baird has been serving at UPIKE for over half of the 129 years of its existence. During the 2018 opening convocation ceremony, President Burton J. Webb, Ph.D., honored UPIKE Trustee Emeritus Bill Baird with the inaugural Baird Family Service Award, in recognition of his remarkable impact on the lives of others through steadfast service to the university, to the Appalachian region and to all humanity. ``In 2019, we will celebrate 130 years of service in the mountains of Central Appalachia,'' says Webb. ``During that span of time few families have impacted the college more than the Baird family. Bill Baird has taken the legacy of servant leadership from his mother, father, and brother even further. He has been a softball coach, a friend of the university and an ardent supporter of the university for decades.'' After more than 30 years of distinguished service Bill Baird retired from the UPIKE Board of Trustees, which was also served by Bill's father and brother, Charles. In recognition of Bill Baird's indelible contributions, the board voted unanimously to establish and fund the Bill Baird Family Scholarship to improve student retention by filling financial gaps for students. ``You pick up the need down here,'' says Bill Baird. ``There is a gap between the educated part of the community and the working class such as the retired coal miners or people on fixed incomes.'' UPIKE Board Chairman Terry L. Dotson has witnessed the fruits of Bill Baird's selflessness for decades. ``The entire Baird family is a treasure to Eastern Kentucky and to the University of Pikeville,'' Dotson says. ``Bill is an exceptional person in every way. He is someone every good person strives to be. Bill cares about all things--his church, family and community. He has been a special board member who has fully given of his time, talent and treasure to the university at a level few have ever given, and he has done so with an unmatched sense of love and care. Bill is my friend and has served our board with distinction.'' Dotson's sentiments are echoed by UPIKE Trustee Richard A. Sturgill. ``Bill Baird has been an inspiration to me and many others in the UPIKE community. His unwavering positive attitude, his willingness to encourage and mentor the students and his ability to always stand up for what is right has been steadfast. I am thankful to call him my friend,'' says Sturgill. Bill Baird says the university and medical and optometry colleges are ``miracles.'' ``UPIKE is a light on the hill to this city, the region and even nationally. To me, what we are is the answered prayers for the many people who laid the foundation for this place by praying for years. These are people who have sacrificed and dedicated themselves to the university.'' Humbly, Bill Baird deflects the spotlight to his parents. His father, who died in 1987, was raised on a Kentucky farm and was a graduate of Berea College and Duke Law School (a classmate of Richard Nixon). He also founded in 1947 the Baird & Baird law firm in Pikeville where Bill Baird and his brothers (Charles and John) as well as children, grandchildren and in-laws also practice. Bill Baird's mother Florane Justice Baird, who died in 2011, also had strong Pikeville roots: She attended the Training School for grades 1-8 in Pikeville (which operated in the original college building) and then the Pikeville Collegiate Institute for high school, before going to the University of Kentucky. ``My parents were very service-oriented people,'' says Bill Baird. ``They were giving, caring people who gave back to their community.'' Bill Baird started at Duke University as an undergraduate and says he ``made an A in fraternity and an A in football,'' and soon he [[Page S1656]] returned to the Pikeville area and worked in the mines, graduated from Pikeville college in 1966. He was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1969 and served in the U.S. Army from 1969-1971. A life-transforming event happened to him in the spring of 1973 when heard the Rev. Ben Sheldon, who was then a Presbyterian pastor in Washington, D.C., preach in Pikeville. ``He started preaching the gospel of God's love,'' Baird says of Sheldon, who later became a pastor in Pikeville. ``I felt a personal love that He died for me. It was God's timing.'' Baird went on to practice law in Pikeville, joking that ``in Hatfield and McCoy country, folks can be litigious here.'' He now describes his role as a ``sometime'' attorney, not full-time nor part-time, who does pro bono work and helps fill in for other attorneys at court appearances. ``Some people say I'm the only retired person they know who comes in to the office every day,'' he says. He followed up on his short ``athletic'' career at Duke by coaching softball at Pikeville High School from 1986-2004 and at the university from 1994-2004. Today one of the family's scholarships is dedicated to athletics, and Bill Baird himself is a member of the university's Athletic Hall of Fame. Much of the family's UPIKE support is described by Bill Baird as meeting the needs of first-time college students who come from the community. He says he hopes the scholarships will address larger gaps as well. To meet additional need in his region, Bill Baird has been actively involved in several faith-based groups and community support programs. He has supported the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program, provided devotional Bibles to coaches and is Board Chairman of WestCare of Kentucky, Inc., which is involved in treatment of substance abuse. Today, the Baird Family Circle is one of the granite inlays of Benefactor's Plaza on campus. Acknowledging the recent service award and scholarship fund honoring him at UPIKE, Bill Baird says, ``Christ made the difference in my life. He gave me an opportunity to serve in this way.'' He praises this year's fellow recipients of the Baird Family Service award, UPIKE Trustee Gregory Pauley and his wife, Kathryn, characterizing them as ``wonderful, caring people,'' whose mobile home park neighborhood ministry is just the kind of generosity and service embodied by the Baird legacy. (At the request of Mr. Schumer, the following statement was ordered to be printed in the Record.) ____________________
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