[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


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

 
                      TRIBUTE TO VERNON J. FREEMAN

                                 ______


                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 1994

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute Mr. Vernon J. 
Freeman, who has recently retired as executive director of the United 
Christian Centers of the Greater Sacramento Area, Inc.
  Mr. Freeman began his career in 1947 when he entered the U.S. Army. 
In 1949, he entered the U.S. Air Force where he held a variety of 
positions of leadership in the fields of human relations, personnel, 
and administrative management until his retirement in Sacramento in 
1973.
  From 1973-74, he served as the business manager for the Del Paso 
Heights Elementary School District, making noteworthy accomplishments 
in facilities, human and material resources, and fiscal accountability.
  He then took a position as executive director of the Sacramento Inner 
City Health Corp. There, he established the Senior Health Day Care 
Center, a model alternative to social isolation and premature 
institutionalization of elderly persons.
  In 1979, he became the executive director of the United Christian 
Centers of the Greater Sacramento Area, Inc. The mission of the centers 
is to provide social, educational, spiritual, and recreational services 
to persons with special needs so that they may reach their highest 
potential and become self-sufficient.
  One of his most noteworthy accomplishments is the establishment of 
the Lincoln Training Center, which trains disadvantaged persons in 
clerical skills. This center runs with the cooperation of IBM and the 
University of California Davis Medical Center. To date, more than 2,000 
students have graduated from the center and 80 to 85 percent have been 
consistently placed in unsubsidized employment.
  Other programs which he has established include the Rosenwald C. 
Robertson Adult Day Health Care Center which serves up to 60 adults 
each day to preclude their premature placement in nursing or 
convalescent homes; the West Sacramento Resource Center, which serves 
the holistic needs of disadvantaged persons who need jobs, job skills, 
housing, shelter, and medical/social therapy and food; a transitional 
shelter which provides temporary housing for nine families at no cost 
for up to 6 months to enable them to make the transition into permanent 
housing; and a program named Before and After School where 25 children, 
5 to 12 years of age can do their homework and have recreational 
experiences under the leadership of a licensed teacher.
  In addition to his many professional accomplishments, Mr. Freeman has 
been active in numerous civic and community endeavors. Among the 
organizations which have benefited from his wisdom and leadership 
include: Several Toastmasters Clubs, the Urban League, the NAACP, 
American River College Foundation, Sacramento City Unified School 
District Board of Education, California Association of Urban School 
Districts, the United Way, and my own Armed Forces Academy Selection 
Advisory Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to recognize Mr. 
Vernon Freeman for his outstanding commitment to the people of 
Sacramento. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating him and 
wishing him success and happiness in all of his future endeavors.

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