LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commending W. Brian Barr upon the occasion of his
selection to represent the Capital Region in the national Jefferson
Awards competition in Washington, D.C. on June 21-23, 2011

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the people of the State of New York to
recognize and acknowledge outstanding individuals within our midst who
have made significant contributions to the quality of life therein; and
WHEREAS, A great community is only as great as those persons and
organizations that provide exemplary service, whether through partic-
ipation in voluntary programs or simply through a lifetime of good citi-
zenship; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend W. Brian
Barr upon the occasion of his selection to represent the Capital Region
in the esteemed Jefferson Awards national competition in Washington,
D.C. on June 21-23, 2011; and
WHEREAS, The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition
program which honors community and public service throughout the United
States; and
WHEREAS, In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, United States Senator
Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard, Chairman of the National Development
Council, founded the American Institute for Public Service to establish
a "Nobel Prize" for public and community service on both the national
and local level, the Jefferson Awards; and
WHEREAS, The Jefferson Awards, whose stated mission is "to recognize,
inspire and activate volunteerism and public service in communities,
workplaces and schools across America," serve as a "Call to Action for
Volunteers"; and
WHEREAS, On the local level, Jefferson Awards recipients are ordinary
people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or
reward, while national award recipients represent a "Who's Who" of
outstanding Americans; and
WHEREAS, St. Peter's Health Care Services, NewsChannel 13, and the
Times Union are the Capital Region's Jefferson Awards sponsors; and
WHEREAS, Eighteen Capital Region residents who exemplify the qualities
of caring and sharing which strengthen the organizations they assist, as
well as the wider community, have been honored with 2011 local Jefferson
Awards; all volunteer their time and energy and contribute their partic-
ular talents and experience to improve the lives of countless individ-
uals and, from among these outstanding individuals, W. Brian Barr has
been selected to represent the Capital Region in the national Jefferson
Awards competition; and
WHEREAS, W. Brian Barr, of Albany, has been volunteering in the Capi-
tal Region for nearly three decades with service-centered organizations
such as the Neighborhood Resource Center in Albany, the Employee Assist-
ance Program, United Way of the Capital Region and Senior Hope; and
WHEREAS, He also served, for a time, as the Chairman of the Family and
Children's Service Agency of Albany, Inc. and, since his 18-year-old
son, Kevin, committed suicide in 1984, he has worked to educate the
public about suicide prevention; and
WHEREAS, He has spent more than a quarter of a century trying to
understand his son's suicide, and throughout that time he has reached
out to help the community understand suicide in general; and
WHEREAS, As a mental health practitioner by profession, W. Brian Barr,
now retired, worked with youth for more than 30 years as a social work-
er; he uses his years of work as a mental health and substance-abuse
expert, along with his personal experience, to try to demystify suicide

and help prevent it and has contributed significantly to reducing the
stigma often attached to it; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when a person
of such noble aims and accomplishments is brought to our attention it is
appropriate to publicly proclaim and commend them for the edification
and emulation of others; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend W. Brian Barr upon the occasion of his selection to represent
the Capital Region in the national Jefferson Awards competition in Wash-
ington, D.C. on June 21-23, 2011, wishing him well, noting his exemplary
service to his community and extending to him heartfelt best wishes for
a future of continued purposeful success and well-being; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to W. Brian Barr.