[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 8, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E237-E238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO VALENTINE BURROUGHS, JR., SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF 
              TRANSPORTATION, DIRECTOR OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 8, 2000

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Valentine Burroughs of Camden, South Carolina, an outstanding public 
servant and friend who passed away suddenly last weekend. Valentine 
Burroughs was that rarest of individuals who always placed the 
interests of others before his own. He felt strong duty to help 
maintain his community,

[[Page E238]]

focusing his talent and energy on helping people.
  Val served tirelessly in the Executive Office of South Carolina's 
Department of Transportation and other divisions of improve overall 
opportunities to ethnic minorities, women and individuals with 
disabilities.
  Val exhibited strong leadership and he ably represented the interests 
of fellow coworkers and local residents. He worked with the Human 
Resources Office to develop a recruitment strategy to identify and 
attract minorities and women in underutilized professions, with an 
emphasis on the engineering career field. He proved his dedication and 
excellence to the community by providing outstanding support to 
research efforts of the Legislative Black Caucus, Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and rural communities. Val has 
undertook special projects including research special transportation 
initiatives for Native Americans.
  He administered the implementation of the HBCU Partnership Program 
with South Carolina State University and Benedict College, the Summer 
Transportation Initiative Program, the Cooperative Education/Intern 
Program, the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program and the 
Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program.
  He was named the agency's Americans With Disabilities (ADA) 
Coordinator, and the Urban Youth Corps Program Statewide Coordinator 
for which he leaves an indelible legacy. The Youth Corps Program which 
began in 1994 now employs over 690 youth throughout the state of South 
Carolina.
  When Val was named as the transportation department's Director of 
Minority Affairs in 1990, he stated, ``I view this is one of the most 
challenging positions in the agency because of the uniqueness of the 
highway construction industry and because of the economic importance of 
minority firms participating''. But he had faced tough challenges 
before. Fresh out of school and armed with a degree in Sociology from 
St. Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C. he moved to Washington, D.C.'s 
troubled inner-city. He began working as a counselor for the 
Neighborhood Youth Corps, helping the disadvantaged find jobs and 
offering them alternatives to crime. His community service included 
Directors of the Triangle Ministry Community Program, the Mission/
Congress Heights Youth Service Center and the Mission of Community 
Concern, Inc.
  In 1976, Val moved back to South Carolina to work in the office of 
Governor James B. Edwards under I. DeQuincey Newman, who was director 
of the Division of Rural Development, and later became the first Black 
South Carolina senators since post-reconstruction. There he assisted 
rural communities through workshops, training programs and resource 
development. Val remained in Rural Development through the first term 
of Governor Richard Riley before assuming the position of project 
information coordinator for the South Carolina State Family Development 
Authority, an agency that sets up tax-deferred bond programs to assist 
farmers in building agricultural facilities.
  In 1987, Val came to the Office of Planning and Program Development 
in the Division of Motor Vehicles, previously the South Carolina 
Department of Highways and Public Transportation where he served 
continuously until his untimely death last Saturday.
  To Valentine Burroughs, community and public service wasn't an 
option. It was a responsibility and an honor. Whenever neighbors or 
coworkers called upon him, Burroughs was always there. There aren't 
enough Valentine Burroughs in our communities and his absence will be 
greatly missed.
  I extend my deepest condolences to Val's wife, Audrey and their two 
children. To them Val was a loving husband and father, to me he was a 
friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in a tribute to Valentine 
Burroughs for his selfless dedication to his community and country.

                          ____________________