[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 122 (Tuesday, August 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           BETHEL BROWN, 28 YEARS OF SERVICE TO SUMNER COUNTY

                                 ______


                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 23, 1994

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, whoever it was who said that leaders aren't 
born--they're made--just might have been thinking of Bethel Brown. Over 
his long career of serving Sumner County, he's done exactly what 
leaders do: He ensured that our county government--and the people it 
serves--were both better off than when he assumed office.
  After serving Sumner County for 28 years--8 years as county court 
judge and 12 as county executive--Mr. Brown will retire in September.
  As county judge he once married 1,017 couples in a single year. In 
1979, he married Mel Tillis and his wife in a ceremony noted by Paul 
Harvey. The radio broadcaster remarked on Tillis' well-known stuttering 
problem and quipped, ``Judge Brown couldn't sing and Mel Tillis 
couldn't talk.''
  It seems that singing is about the only thing Mr. Brown couldn't do 
or hasn't done in his service to Sumner County. He shepherded it 
through a period of growth and prosperity so strong that for one period 
in the 1970's it required the construction of one school a year and the 
issuance of over $100 million in revenue bonds.
  He guided the building boom that included renovating the old 
courthouse twice, constructing a new administration building and 
juvenile detention center and renovating the jail three times.
  Mr. Brown is rightly proud of his role in guiding Sumner Regional 
Medical Center to its position as one of the finest in the area.
  Taxpayer money was managed so well under this leadership that Sumner 
County's bond rating increased from A to AA. Because of his foresight 
and dedication, the only debt Sumner County will owe is one of 
gratitude: all debt will be retired by 2001.
  As lasting and significant as his professional accomplishments are, 
Mr. Brown has more to be proud of, such as his able executive 
assistant, Linda Edwards, who also happens to be his daughter.
  As he retires he will have more time to spend with his wife, 5 
children, and 11 grandchildren.
  He has earned it, and all Sumner Countians wish him well.

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