[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 4 (Monday, February 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S277]]
                      TRIBUTE TO HERSCHEL CREASMAN

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr President, I rise today to honor Herschel 
Creasman, who after more than four decades of dedicated service to 
spreading the gospel to various organizations and in performing 
community services retired on Sunday, January 18, 1998. He is an 
outstanding example to his family and friends, and has been an asset to 
the many communities that he has touched over the years including Coral 
Springs, Florida, where he currently resides; Athens, Tennessee where 
he was born; and numerous others across the South and abroad.
  Herschel chose to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a 
minister. He first graduated from Carson Newman College and then went 
on to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which marked the onset 
of more than 45 years of faithful leadership in Texas, Oklahoma, 
Georgia, Florida and even five years in Brazil. Herschel has preached 
in more than 20 countries and has served as an instructor at the 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He 
fostered an environment within his churches that welcomed many new 
faces, from differing religions and communities, who come to hear his 
wonderfully inspiring sermons.
  Many would think that with this busy schedule and his devotion to his 
wife Joanne, their two daughters and one son, and four grandchildren, 
Herschel would not have time for much more, but this is definitely not 
the case with this extraordinary individual. Over the years he has 
received several honorary doctorates, including a Doctorate of Theology 
and Doctorate of Philosophy from the Great Commission Seminary in 
Kentucky and a Doctorate of Divinity from Freedom Seminary in 
Jacksonville, Florida. He has also represented his community by serving 
on the Ethics Board and Community Relations Committee for the Coral 
Springs Medical Center and on the District Review Board for the North 
Broward Hospital District.
  As many people who know him well are aware, he is an avid golfer, and 
as he enters this next stage in his life, I wish him the best of luck 
on the greens, which I'm sure he'll finally have the time to truly 
enjoy and perhaps master!
  Mr. President, I would like to honor and commend Herschel Creasman 
for his outstanding and innumerable contributions over the years to the 
many communities and churches that he has dedicated his life to 
inspiring and improving, and ask my colleagues to join me in saluting 
and congratulating Herschel Creasman on his retirement.

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