MEDIA RELESE

Office's of A Community Congressional campaign & DECA

For Immediate Release April 22. 1997

WHITE HOUSE CANDLE LIGHT MEMORIAL

7:30 p.m. EST

CHAPTER OFFICERS: Beejal Amin ‑ Good evening my name is Beejal Amin and welcome to our Candle Light Memorial dedicated to the hemophilia community and their families. The students gathered here tonight have been touched and inspired by the hundreds of letters, phone calls, and personal accounts of people who have had their life's cut short by AIDS. The truth is, mistakes were made by people who were trusted to protect America's Blood Supply which resulted in 6,000 innocent people dying. Who would have thought the consumer laws drafted here in the Nations Capitol in the name of Free Enterprise, could have caused this horrible loss of life. The high school students here tonight from Oakton and Robinson are members of DECA, a national association of marketing students. They have given their time and energy for the past two years in an effort to promote the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Bill. This afternoon was the sixth visit to Congressional Offices to appeal to both houses of congress for their support. We made over 335 visits to convince our law makers that free enterprise was compromised and the Ricky Ray Bill is a prudent and just action.

We organized the Silent Memorial on the steps of the Capitol this afternoon so our politicians could see the faces and read the biographic information about the innocent people who have struggled with hemophilia related AIDS. As the pictures and letters arrived from families across America we witnessed for ourselves the loss and frustration of a preventable disaster. Tonight we honor the individuals and families members who may have lost the battle against AIDS ... they will never be forgotten in our hearts. We hope both houses of congress will pass the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Bill with out further delay! Dawn Plaugher and Mike Chierichella will introduce our national advisory committee.

Dawn Plaugher & Mike Chierichella ‑ We would like to recognize some very special people who have given us the inspiration and guidance to carry on our campaign for the Ricky Ray Bill. They have served on our Free Enterprise advisory committee for the past two years. Wendy Sprig and Jim Boxold from Congressman Porter Goss's Office, Val Bias ‑ Marc Associates, Dana Kuhn ‑ Virginia Medical College, Kim Bernstein ‑Quantum's A.C.C.E.S.S. Program, and Ellis Sulser ‑ National DECA.

We have had a close relationship with both Mr. & Mrs. Ray and feel like we are part of their family. Ricky's mom is a special person who has lead the crusade with Mr. Kuhn here in Washington, D.C. She told us the story of how Ricky was introduced to President Clinton while he was on the Campaign trail in 1991 and was invited to the White House. He never made it here personally, so tonight we carry his picture and many others who need to be represented. We would be honored if Mrs. Louise Ray could address all of the families gathered here for the candle light memorial.

Mrs. Louise Ray ‑ Ricky's mother (remarks)

Alyson DiSanto ‑ Robinson DECA. Thank you Mrs. Ray, I know your words mean so much to all of the mothers here tonight. As we distribute the candles it would be my pleasure to ask Mr. Dana Kuhn, who provides daily guidance to hemophilia patients to express his thoughts and pay respect to his own personal loss. Mr. Kuhn.

Mr. Dana Kuhn ‑ M. Div., Ph.D. Medical College of Virginia Hospitals

Instructions for the candle light procession & closing remarks.