THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary
                       (Los Angeles, California)
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                        May 4, 1998

                           PRESIDENT CLINTON 
         NAMES DONNA NIGH AS A MEMBER OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE 
                         ON MENTAL RETARDATION

The President today announced his intent to appoint Donna Nigh as a Member of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.

Ms. Donna Nigh, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is the former First Lady of Oklahoma, and is active in programs for Oklahomans with mental retardation. In 1981, she facilitated legislative approval and funding to establish group homes in Oklahoma for citizens with mental retardation. There are now over 100 group homes throughout the state. In 1984, she formed the Donna Nigh Foundation, which awards grants to those with developmental disabilities. During her husband's term as Governor of Oklahoma, she successfully pushed for passage of infant car seat legislation and was on the founding Board of Directors for Children's Medical Research. She currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Carepoint, and is on the Board of the Foundation for Excellence, which aids Oklahoma's public schools. She attended the University of Central Oklahoma.

The President's Committee on Mental Retardation was created by Executive Order in May, 1966. The Committee provides advice and assistance to the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services and publishes an annual report regarding the concerns of the mental retardation community.

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