[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 41 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E434]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF J.C. COLLINS

                                 ______


                         HON. RICHARD J. DURBIN

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 22, 1996

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate Mr. J.C. Collins of 
Bethalto, IL. Mr. Collins has been chosen as the 1995 Inductee of the 
National Mens' Ministries Christian Hall of Excellence, by the national 
Assemblies of God denominational headquarters in Springfield, MO. This 
honor is equivalent to a national layman of the year award for the 
Assemblies of God.
  Mr. Collins was chosen for this award from among the 50 State 
inductees of the State Assemblies of God. He had earlier been named the 
Illinois State Inductee by the State Assemblies of God denominational 
headquarters in Carlinville, IL.
  He has faithfully served his church, the First Assembly of God in 
Cottage Hills, IL, as a deacon, assistant Sunday school superintendent, 
and youth leader. He has been a Sunday school teacher for 30 years. He 
has supervised almost all of the church's construction projects, 
including the church itself, the houses, and all the buildings that 
belong to the church.
  He has been active for decades with Gideons International, spreading 
the Gospel and passing out Bibles in schools, hospitals, hotels, and 
colleges.
  When Mr. Collins retired in 1988 from his work as a construction 
supervisor, after 41 years at Laclede Steel Co. in Alton, IL, he prayed 
for the opportunity to make 10 trips overseas to help build churches. 
Since then he has made 11 trips, including Belgium, the former 
Czechoslovakia, Lesotho, Mexico, Germany, and the former East Germany 
when the Berlin Wall was coming down. He is now planning trips to 
Belgium and El Salvador.
  J.C. Collins was born in Marshall County, KY, on February 8, 1926. He 
entered the U.S. Armed Forces when he was 17 years old, and he was 
promoted to staff sergeant by the time he was 18. During his military 
service he worked on researching German V-2 rockets on the White Sands 
Proving Ground.
  Mr. Collins married his lovely wife, Ruby Scott, on December 9, 1944, 
in Mineral Wells, TX. They are blessed with two daughters, Wanda 
Collins Burgund and Patricia Collins Moran, and four grandchildren, 
Brian Hendricks, Stephanie Burgund Krienitz, Rachel Moran, and Alicia 
Moran. Following their father's and grandfather's strong and positive 
spiritual influence, all of Mr. Collins' children and grandchildren are 
active in their local churches.
  I congratulate Mr. J.C. Collins and wish him and his family the very 
best in the future.

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