[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2160-E2161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MS. MARY TULLIS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 14, 1998

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Ms. Mary Tullis of 
Rosedale, Mississippi. Ms. Tullis is a shining example for both 
recipients of public assistance and government policy makers of the 
ability for hard-working people to escape welfare when provided with 
the proper community support.
  No longer requiring public assistance, Ms. Tullis was recently 
awarded a ``Success Story Award'' by the United States Small Business 
Administration. She is now serving as a student assistant for the 
Center for Community Development, which is cosponsored by the SBA and 
the Small Business Development Center at Delta State, and will be 
applying for a position as a graduate assistant in the 1999 Spring 
Semester.
  Ms. Tullis has been attending Delta State University for the past 3 
years and will graduate with a major in Sociology in December. She is 
on the Dean's List and has been named a Faculty Scholar. Once in 
graduate school, Ms. Tullis hopes to write her thesis on matters 
relating to ``Welfare, Women and Education: Attaining and Sustaining 
Financial Independence.''
  Ms. Tullis sets an example not just as a dedicated worker, but also 
as a superb parent. She is 47 years old, single, and a mother of 11 
children ranging from 9 to 32 years old. Five of her children are in 
college, one is on scholarship at Yale University and another is almost 
a senior on scholarship at a boarding school in New England. Two of her 
children have already received degrees, one in Nursing and the other in 
Law and Economics.
  In addition to her individual achievements, Ms. Tullis has 
unselfishly sought to assist other public assistance recipients in 
following her course. A volunteer for numerous community services, she 
has recently been selected to be a member of the Americorps Delta 
Service Corps. Her work in the Delta Service Corps will include 
educating and promoting community awareness in the values of being a 
volunteer, and she will also assist in creating the Community Service 
Projects and Signature Projects to locate resources which can be used 
for further development.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Ms. Tullis for her outstanding achievements, 
and I would also like to complement Delta State and all the community 
service organizations which provided her with support in her persistent 
drive

[[Page E2161]]

towards independence. Together they are a model of what can be achieved 
in this nation through community support and individual effort.

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