Mr. Speaker, next week my constituents in San Francisco are gathering to celebrate the homecoming of two very special people, Richard and Barbara Sklar. Ambassador Richard Sklar returns to San Francisco from 5 years in Southeastern Europe where he coordinated programs with the European Union, World Bank, IMF and other donor countries to promote the economic reconstruction and strategic reform of eight Balkan countries. Now home in San Francisco, Richard will oversee the building of new energy plants for the State of California and build a private international mediation program.
Barbara Sklar, an accomplished artist for the past 35 years, has shown her work in galleries and group shows from New York to California. For the past five years, Barbara has worked in Bosnia, New York and Rome, and has exhibited her work from Florence to Sarajevo. An accredited specialist on aging, Barbara has shared her expertise the several Bay Area communities through her service at the Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco.Richard and Barbara Sklar are being honored May 30, 2001 by San Francisco's Delancey Street Foundation, a residential rehabilitation community that provides housing and training to thousands of ex-convicts and recovering addicts at no cost to the client or taxpayers. At that time, Delancey Street's Crossroads Cafe will show Barbara's watercolor exhibit ``Round Trip,'' a portion of the proceeds of which will assist in making it possible for hundreds of people to be trained in the hospitality field.
The Sklar's service to our country and our community is indeed a cause for celebration.