[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 83 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       HONORING MELVYN S. BRANNON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 1999

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to recognize and 
honor the achievements of a man who has given much to the community on 
behalf of civil rights. On June 27, local officials and civic leaders 
will join family and friends to pay tribute to Mr. Melvyn Brannon of 
Burton, MI, who is retiring as president of the Urban League of Flint, 
after more than 30 years of dedicated service.
  Melvyn Brannon was born in Memphis, TN, and went to studies at the 
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He then moved to Michigan, where 
he pursued postgraduated studies at Eastern Michigan University, the 
University of Michigan-Flint, and Harvard Business School. During this 
time, he also participated in the National Urban League Management 
Training and Development Program. This served as just the beginning of 
a long standing relationship with the Urban League.
  Throughout the years, Mel worked at Flint Osteopathic Hospital as a 
radiologic technologist, and then moved on to lengthy and rewarding 
tenure with Flint Community Schools, which included positions such as 
teacher, special counselor, and job development and placement 
specialist. In September of 1968, Mel was appointed deputy executive 
director of the Urban League of Flint, and held the position until 
November of 1970, where he became president, a position he has held 
until this day.
  In addition to his extensive work with the Urban League both locally 
and nationally, Mel has benefited many members of the community with 
his vision and insight. In the past, he has served on such boards as 
Genese County Commission on Substance Abuse Services, the Coalition for 
Positive Youth Development, the Urban Coalition of Greater Flint, and 
the Hurley Hospital Board of Managers, to name a few. Currently he has 
been involved with the boards of Disability Network, Priority 90's, the 
Hurley Medical Center Human Resources Committee, and he serves as 
Chairman of the Bishop International Airport Authority. Mel has also 
been found working with groups such the NAACP, the Rotary Club, and the 
Genesee County Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, among many others.
  Mr. Speaker, the Flint area, as well as the entire state of Michigan 
has prospered due to the efforts and leadership of Melvyn Brannon. I 
ask my colleagues in the 106th Congress to please join me in 
congratulating him on his retirement.

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