[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 89 (Tuesday, July 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                    SALUTING MENTHA MITCHELL VARNER

                                 ______


                         HON. BILL K. BREWSTER

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 12, 1994

  Mr. BREWSTER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a woman from 
Oklahoma who has achieved excellence and dedicated her life toward 
quality education and community service, Mentha Mitchell Varner.
  Mrs. Varner, from Ardmore, OK, has accomplished several firsts in her 
lifetime as an educator, administrator, and community leader. She 
taught school 40 years and was with the Ardmore Early Childhood Center 
for 3 years. In 1966, she was the first black teacher, after 
integration, to work in the Ardmore City School System. She was 
acclaimed one of the best teachers in the State.
  She also taught home nursing for the National American Red Cross, 
Carter County Chapter, for 10 years, and has served in many positions 
for the chapter for more than 53 years.
  She has always been a trailblazer. She was the first black student to 
live in an integrated dormitory on the campus of Oklahoma State 
University in 1954; and she was responsible for black boys and girls 
being accepted to attend the Oklahoma American Legion and auxiliary 
boys and girls State conferences.
  In 1965 she was an instrumental leader in establishing the National 
Head Start Program in Ardmore, OK. Volunteering her time, she headed 
the drive to raise money to renovate the old Dunbar School as a 
permanent home for the program. The building was renamed for her in 
1989.
  Mrs. Varner has held many leadership positions in the Oklahoma Negro 
Teachers Association, the Ardmore Classroom Teachers Association, and 
the Oklahoma Education Association.
  Presently, she is a board member of the Carter County Chapter of the 
National American Red Cross, the United Way of Southern Oklahoma, the 
Ardmore City Schools Enrichment Foundation, and the HFV Wilson 
Community Center. Further, Mrs. Varner is a member of the American 
Legion Auxiliary Post #264, Carter County RSVP, the NAACP, the First 
Baptist Church of Ardmore, and the TAPP organization.
  Mrs. Varner is also a member of the local, district, and State 
Democratic Party, the Admore Chamber of Commerce, Carter County Retired 
Teachers Association, and the National Retired Teachers and Persons 
Association.
  She is a life member of Langston University's National Alumni 
Association and Ardmore Douglass High School's National Alumni 
Association.
  Mrs. Varner has been instrumental in helping many students attend 
college, by arranging for scholarships, and even giving her own money.
  In 1991, she received the Living Legacy Award from the National 
Caucus and Center on Black Aged, in Washington, DC. Her life's work and 
many accomplishments led to her being selected for the prestigious 
award.
  At 80 years of age, Mrs. Varner remains active with community work, 
volunteering, writing, consulting, and often lecturing.
  I want to wish her well and congratulate her for many years of 
service, leadership, and friendship to the residents of Oklahoma.
  Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to join the residents of Carter 
County, the city of Ardmore, and the State of Oklahoma in saluting 
Mentha Mitchell Varner.

                          ____________________