[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 159 (Thursday, November 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2374-E2376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  PRAISING LLOYD COLLIER'S PUBLIC SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO CITIZENS 
                        ACROSS THE 8TH DISTRICT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 10, 1999

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise and 
have spread on the pages of the Congressional Record, an article on Mr. 
Lloyd Collier of Dyersburg, Tennessee. The article adequately describes 
Mr. Collier's work at the Social Security Administration, as well as 
his outstanding service to his community.
  Over the years, Mr. Collier has been of tremendous service to our 
office. His vast knowledge, and his willingness to share it with our 
staff, has been a valuable asset to the residents of the Eighth 
Congressional District. Just yesterday, he was instrumental in helping 
a constituent, who is stricken with cancer, obtain the benefits that 
are rightfully his. This is just one of the thousands of examples of 
the dedicated service he has aptly demonstrated during his 38 years of 
public service.
  So, it is with appreciation for his service that I include the text 
of an article published in the Dyersburg State-Gazette under the 
headline, ``He's making a difference.''

           [From the Dyersburg State-Gazette, Oct. 17, 1999]

                        He's Making a Difference

       At 60, most people are thinking about retirement and how 
     big their Social Security checks might be.
       Not Lloyd Collier.
       He's more interested in making sure other people get all of 
     the Social Security benefits they're entitled to receive. 
     It's a job he's loved for more than 38 years.
       Working first as a claims representative and now as the 
     Northwest Tennessee district manager with the Social Security 
     Administration, Collier said he's had countless opportunities 
     to help people. One of his most memorable cases happened 33 
     years ago while he was a field representative in Florence, 
     Ala.
       ``I'll never forget taking a survivor claim from a 13-year-
     old widow with one child less than 1 year of age,'' he said. 
     The girl had become pregnant when she was 11, married at 12 
     and a widow at 13. Her 22-year-old husband, who had no life 
     insurance, was killed in a motorcycle wreck.
       ``Social Security played a big part in the financial 
     picture of that family,'' he said ``It's something that you 
     don't forget. It's a rare case, but things like this happen 
     all over the nation.''
       Ironically, Collier will never receive the same benefits he 
     has helped to disburse over the years. A long-time federal 
     employee, Collier is covered by a civil service retirement 
     plan instead of Social Security.
       Still, he's earnestly trying to help in his 
     characteristically quiet way.
       ``I categorize him as being a quiet, dynamic person,'' 
     friend Wendell West said, ``He's not a flamboyant 
     toastmaster-type person. (But) when you need a job to be 
     done, he's going to do it efficiently and without a drum 
     roll.''
       That description applies not only to Collier's job but also 
     to the volunteer work he does with the Boy Scouts, the 
     Civitan Club and his church.
       Collier, who was hired by the Social Security 
     Administration the day before his 22nd birthday, looks at his 
     career as a wonderful birthday present.
       ``It's been a good opportunity, and I like working with 
     people, trying to help them resolve problems,'' Collier said. 
     ``I love my job.''
       The career was happenstance. Collier--a man with a 
     mechanical mind, a knack for math and a sharp attention to 
     details--originally wanted to be a civil engineer.
       Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to go to an engineering 
     college. Instead, he pursued a bachelor's degree at his 
     hometown college: Austin Peay State University in 
     Clarksville, where he majored in math and minored in physics. 
     Although his college advisor encouraged him to get a teaching 
     certificate, Collier wasn't too excited about being a 
     teacher. He also opted to take the civil service exam.
       The Social Security Administration called him in September 
     1961, just a few months after he graduated.
       Even with the government job, Collier couldn't escape 
     teaching. When he served as the assistant district manager in 
     Dyersburg (a job he held from 1972-87), he was responsible 
     for training new and promoted employees.
       ``He has always gotten strong, rave reviews on his ability 
     to teach,'' said Bill McClure, deputy regional commissioner 
     for the Social Security Administration's office in Atlanta. 
     Collier's students reported being ``very impressed with his 
     overall knowledge of the program and his ability to 
     communicate and effectively transfer that knowledge.''
       Collier also received high marks for his willingness to 
     assist students on an individual basis, McClure said. Collier 
     was asked to teach classes not only in Dyersburg but in other 
     cities, as well.
       It was Collier's attention to detail that helped make him a 
     good teacher, an alert claims representative and now an 
     outstanding district manager. ``That's a lot of what makes 
     him so successful, because so much of the (Social Security) 
     law is detailed.'' McClure said.
       Collier's cordial, gentle manner also has contributed to 
     his success. McClure said Collier often shares information 
     with fellow Social Security managers in Memphis, Jackson and 
     Nashville and he works closely with other retirement-related 
     agencies, such as a railroad retirement system.
       ``He is very professional in his approach to the public and 
     he represents us very effectively in the community,'' McClure 
     said.
       Collier puts his teaching skills to work on a regular basis 
     as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts.
       ``He's just as tolerant and patient of the boys as you can 
     get.'' Troop 87 assistant scoutmaster Franklin Robertson 
     said. ``One of the major things is at the times you prepare 
     meals. He assists, directs and encourages the Scouts to 
     prepare their meals. I've never seen anything but patience.
       ``He works with the Scouts until they develop the skills 
     they need.''
       Edgar Shults, also a leader in the local Boy Scout program 
     agreed with Robertson. He said Collier is ``real good with 
     the boys. If he weren't, he wouldn't be in it. He's a good, 
     easy-going person and he enjoys working with people.''
       While Collier still attends Troop 87's weekly meetings and 
     joins them on camping trips, he also shares his knowledge 
     with Scouts from all over West Tennessee.
       Collier holds knot-tying classes each year during the Cub 
     Scout day camp at Dyersburg State Community College and 
     started the sailing program at Camp Mack Morris, a 
     residential Scout camp near Kentucky Lake.
       For one week each summer between 1989 and 1995, Collier 
     introduced young boys to the thrills and quiet pleasures of 
     sailing. Using his own 17-foot O'Day Sailor II, Collier 
     taught the boys to hoist sails, to maneuver the boat and to 
     turn the boat right-side-up if it ever turned over.
       The last lesson proved quite important one summer. A 
     crosswind caught the boat's sails and tipped it over. Collier 
     said he and the five Scouts on board knew what they needed to 
     do. They crawled on top of the keel and pulled. Ideally, the 
     sailors' weight would push the keel down into the water while 
     they pulled the mast back up. They had one small problem.
       ``It's just that the six of us didn't weigh enough to get 
     the job done,'' Collier said.
       A road crew working on the lake shore saw the struggling 
     Scouts and called a nearby marina for help. The sailboat was 
     towed into shallow water, where it was easier for the Scouts 
     to right the boat.
       Today, Camp Mack Morris has a fleet of six sailboats. The 
     instructors are graduates of Collier's first sailing course.
       Instead of attending Camp Mack Morris for the last four 
     summers, Collier and his wife have traveled to Philmont Scout 
     Ranch in New Mexico and participated in training programs for 
     adult leaders.
       Collier has served as a Webelos leader, a cubmaster, an 
     assistant scoutmaster and district commissioner in the past. 
     This year,

[[Page E2375]]

     he's chairman of the Davy Crockett District of Boy Scouts.
       Collier believes the Scouting program gives boys skills 
     that will last a lifetime. ``I think it is a very worthwhile 
     program for boys, and it is a program we need to promote 
     health young men become better citizens,'' he said.
       ``We teach a lot of first aid in Scouting, and I have seen 
     young men and boys use the training they learned in Scouts to 
     help someone at a later time in a medical emergency,'' he 
     said. ``I've also seen young men become involved in civil 
     opportunities because of what they learned about in 
     Scouting.''
       Robertson said he's seen young boys change their attitudes 
     after becoming involved in Scouts and feeling Collier's 
     influence and gentle guidance.
       ``He certainly provide a leadership role and is a model for 
     the young boys,'' Robertson said.
       Collier also takes a leadership role in the Civitan Club.
       Active for the last 31 years, Collier has held every 
     position from chairman of the local fruitcake fund-raiser to 
     lieutenant governor of the Valley District, which stretches 
     from the Mississippi River east to the Cumberland Gap. This 
     year, he's the Area 9 director.
       Collier has recruited 25 new members into the club. 
     ``That's like recruiting a club in itself,'' Wendell West 
     said.
       The club focuses on helping disadvantaged adults and 
     children, participates in the Special Olympics and provides 
     birthday cakes each month for those at the Developmental 
     Skills Center. Collier said he likes being involved in those 
     projects as well as the clubs ``ideals of wanting to make 
     this a better place to live.''
       He pointed to the fact that the club helped secure the 
     funding for a greenhouse at the Developmental Skills Center 
     12 years ago. The greenhouse has opened new avenues for the 
     center's clients.
       ``Who knows. One of these days, one of those people may be 
     able to manage a greenhouse of his own,'' Collier said. 
     ``We've just got to put a spark on some tender and let it go 
     from there.''
       Collier's life is distinguished by his dedication and 
     genuine interest in other people, long-time friend and fellow 
     church member R.H. ``Red'' Bond said.
       ``I don't know anyone I respect more highly than him,'' 
     Bond said. ``Anytime you need someone to step in and be a 
     leader, he's more than ready. In the church, he has served on 
     the leading committees. He's not just one who sits back. He's 
     one who's willing to take a leading role.''
       Collier has held a number of positions at First United 
     Methodist Church in Dyersburg--Sunday school teacher, member 
     of the church finance committee, member of the church 
     nominations committee and member of the pastor-parish 
     committee.
       Lay leadership, such as that demonstrated by Collier, is 
     the lifeblood of the church, Bond said. ``The church couldn't 
     exist if it didn't have lay people who were willing to 
     supervise the activities of the church.''
       Even when he's not serving in an official capacity, 
     Collier's ready to help others. He's known for growing 
     vegetables and sharing them with friends and acquaintances.
       Collier said he started gardening in 1971 because it 
     offered a ``good release of energy'' and helped him get rid 
     of any frustrations he might have. At the time, he lived in 
     the Belair subdivision and gardened inside a submerged pool 
     that had been filled with dirt.
       Today, Collier tends a large plot of tomatoes, lima beans, 
     green beans, squash, okra and other vegetables on a grassy 
     plain near the main dam at Lakewood subdivision. His garden 
     is commonly mistaken as a community garden, and Collier said 
     he sometimes finds people there, picking bags full of 
     produce. (The garden just happens to be located in the same 
     spot where Lakewood developer Jere Kirk used to plant corn 
     for the subdivision residents.)
       The close proximity of water serves Collier well. He said 
     he has watered the garden only once since the fourth of July. 
     The plants produced plenty of vegetables this year, despite 
     the fact that Dyer County received no significant rainfall 
     for almost three months.
       Collier's continuing interest in helping his neighbors and 
     his community is remarkable in itself.
       Often, people join an organization and put a lot of energy 
     into it in the beginning. At some point, though, their 
     enthusiasm dwindles and they stop contributing.
       Collier ``doesn't seem to have that attitude.'' West said. 
     ``Service to the community is still part of his life.''
       Why does Collier have such staying power? West suspects 
     he's guided by his faith.
       There's an old saying that goes: ``Our life is God's gift 
     to us and what we do with our lives is our gift to God.'' 
     Perhaps, West said, Collier is living his life that way.
       ``He's making a difference by being actively involved in 
     making it a better world,'' West said.


                           Family background:

       Lloyd Hadden Collier was born Sept. 6, 1939, in 
     Clarksville. He was the older of two sons born to Lloyd 
     Nelson Collier, a mail carrier, and his wife, Grace Hadden 
     Collier, a registered nurse.
       When it came to celebrating birthdays, early September was 
     a big time for the Collier family. Grace Collier's birthday 
     was on Sept. 4, and the younger son, David Collier, was born 
     on Sept. 5, exactly 365 days after Lloyd Hadden Collier was 
     born. If it hadn't been a leap year, the two boys would have 
     shared birthdays on Sept. 6.


                            Family matters:

       Collier met Barbara Nichols, the woman who would become his 
     wife, while he was in college. He was president of the 
     Methodist Student Association and she was a fellow student. 
     Their friendship blossomed into a romance and they married 
     two years later in August 1962.
       They have a daughter, three sons, a granddaughter and two 
     grandsons.
       Their daughter, Heidi Collier Johnson, is an accountant 
     with the University of Tennessee medical system in Memphis.
       Lloyd ``Hadden'' Collier Jr. is employed in research and 
     development at Dyersburg Fabrics Inc.
       Latham Collier and Lawrence Collier are twins. Latham 
     Collier works as a draftsman with Centex Forcum Lannom, and 
     Lawrence Collier is a chemical engineer in the Dyersburg 
     Fabrics dye lab.


                               Education

       Collier grew up in Clarksville, where he attended Howell 
     School and graduated in 1957 from Clarksville High School.
       In 1961, Collier received a bachelor's degree from Austin 
     Peay State University in Clarksville with a major in math and 
     a minor in physics.
       Collier had wanted to become a civil engineer, but tough 
     times financially prevented him from attending an engineering 
     school. He followed the advice of his college advisor, who 
     encouraged him to get a temporary teaching certificate. 
     However, he didn't really want to teach and never pursued a 
     teaching career.


                               Employment

       Collier's first post-college job was as a land surveyor. It 
     rained so much that summer he managed to complete only five 
     full weeks of work--a fact that convinced him he couldn't 
     depend on surveying for a livelihood.
       His salvation came in September when the Social Security 
     Administration called him about a job opening in Nashville. 
     Collier, who had taken the civil service exam while still in 
     college, was hired as a claims representative the day before 
     his 22nd birthday. ``I like to think this job was a birthday 
     present many years ago,'' he said.
       As soon as he finished the Social Security training class, 
     the draft board ordered Collier to report for a physical. 
     Only six of the 24 men who underwent physicals that day 
     passed; Collier was one of them. Because of the potential he 
     would be ordered to serve in the military, the Social 
     Security Administration kept Collier in the Nashville office, 
     where it would be easier to cover his absence. The Berlin 
     Conflict ended before Collier was called into the military.
       Three years later, in 1964, Collier transferred to the 
     Knoxville office as a claims representative. He worked there 
     for a year before being promoted to a field representative 
     position in Florence, Ala. He traveled four days a week into 
     the rural areas, helping people file social security claims, 
     participating in radio shows, giving speeches and 
     distributing public information.
       He came to Dyersburg as the Social Security 
     Administration's operations supervisor in January 1968. He 
     was promoted to assistant manager of the Dyersburg office in 
     October 1972 and manager in February 1987.
       Because the Dyersburg office is actually a district office 
     covering 10 counties, Collier is supervisor of offices in 
     Dyersburg, Union City and Paris.


                                Hobbies

       Shortly after college, Collier bought a 12-foot Styrofoam 
     sailboat and discovered a life-long hobby. It all started 
     with a fascination for the physics of sailing and a desire to 
     know how a sailboat worked. He taught himself how to sail by 
     reading a number of books and then launching his sailboat on 
     Old Hickory Lake near Nashville.
       These days, Collier sails a 17-foot fiberglass sailboat 
     that can accommodate up to six people. Although he's been 
     known to launch at Lakewood subdivision, Collier usually 
     plies the waters of Kentucky Lake.
       ``I like the ability to get out on the water without any 
     type of mechanical equipment,'' he said, noting he enjoys the 
     quiet form of relaxation. It allows him to medicate.
       In addition to sailing, Collier said he enjoys gardening, 
     traveling and getting involved in the community.


                               Activities

       A former Boy Scout himself, Collier re-entered the world of 
     scouting when his oldest son joined the program years ago. 
     Collier served as his son's Webelos leader, then as 
     cubmaster, assistant scout master and eventually as a 
     district commissioner. Last summer, he was elected chairman 
     of the Davy Crockett District of Boy Scouts.
       Collier established the sailing program at Camp Mack 
     Morris, a Boy Scout camp near the Tennessee River in Benton 
     County.
       Collier is a graduate of the Wood Badge training program 
     for adult scout leaders and attends the adult training 
     sessions each summer at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, 
     N.M.
       In 1996, he received the Silver Beaver Award from the West 
     Tennessee Area Boy Scout Council for distinguished service to 
     youth. He also earned District Awards of Merit for his work 
     both as a Cub Scout leader and as a Boy Scout leader. He was 
     given the honorary title of permanent patrol leader for the 
     Busy Beaver patrol in the Wood Badge Training program.

[[Page E2376]]

       Collier joined the Dyersburg Civitan Club in March 1968 
     cause he believed it would provide an opportunity to serve 
     the community. He ended up also serving the club as the 
     Valley District (middle and west Tennessee) lieutenant 
     governor this past year, as president in 1977-78 and in 1994-
     95, as secretary-treasurer several times and as fruitcake 
     sales chairman in 1980. In August, he was selected as the 
     ``Lieutenant Governor of the Year,'' beating out 12 other 
     potential winners in the district. In the fiscal year that 
     started this month, Collier will serve as the Civitan Clubs' 
     Area 9 director.
       Active in First United Methodist Church, Collier serves on 
     the church finance committee and as a Sunday school teacher 
     and participates in the men's chorus. He formerly was a 
     member the church's nominations committee, the paster-parish 
     relations committee and served as chairman of the 
     administrative board.
       In addition, Collier serves as chairman of the craft 
     advisory committee for the office occupations division of the 
     Tennessee Technology Center at Newbern; serves on the 
     advisory committee for typing, shorthand and secretarial 
     science at Dyer County High School; and is a former chairman 
     of the local advisory board for the Tennessee Vocational 
     Training Center in Dyersburg.

                                 Quote

       ``If I have (a motto), it's part of the Civitan creed: `To 
     follow the golden rule and to make it pay dividends both 
     material and spiritual.' ''

     

                          ____________________