[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 67 (Thursday, May 25, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING HELEN McDOWELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2000

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Helen McDowell, a 
nurse, a parent, and a pillar of her community. Her motto is: ``Lots of 
talk and activity don't impress me; results are what really counts.'' I 
honor her today because she has an impressive history of achieving 
results and serving the needs of others.
  Helen McDowell was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the daughter of the 
late George McDowell of Birmingham, Alabama and his wife, Mary, of 
Halifax, North Carolina. After living several years in New Jersey and 
Queens, New York, Helen McDowell moved with her mother and two brothers 
to Stuyvesant Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.
  In her new home in Brooklyn, Helen attended the Holy Rosary School 
and Catherine McAuley High School. These distinguished institutions 
prepared her well for college, and she began her college career at St. 
John's University. After spending some time at St. John's, Ms. McDowell 
pursued a course of study at the Bellevue School of Nursing at New York 
University. Public Nursing was her forte, and her interest in it led 
her to continue her studies at Teachers College at Columbia University.
  ``Ms. Mac,'' as her friends know her, began an illustrious teaching 
career in San Francisco, California. Through her teaching position in 
San Francisco, she got the opportunity to travel to Africa, Haiti and 
the Eastern Caribbean with the United Nations' World Health 
Organization. As you can imagine, during her seventeen years away from 
her community in Brooklyn, Ms. Mac had the good fortune to combine her 
work, travel and, sometimes, play on several continents.
  Ultimately, Ms. Mac returned to us in Brooklyn, reestablishing her 
roots in Bedford Stuyvesant. However, she continued to fulfill her 
commitment to lifelong learning, a cornerstone of her philosophy of 
life. So, at the age of 50, she enrolled in a graduate program in 
Business Administration, which she completed with distinction.
  An early retirement enabled Ms. Mac to become deeply involved with 
non-profit organizations in her local community. She eventually 
established Marimac Services, Inc., a corporation that enabled her to 
invest in and assist others with tenant and building management 
services. Many local professional organizations benefited from her 
dedication, expertise and professionalism.
  While she is too shy to admit her many talents, like her fluency in 
French, her family and friends know how remarkable she is. Whether she 
is spending her time overseeing building renovations, home repair or 
decorating, her energy and resources seem endless. Ms. Mac is more than 
worthy of receiving this honor, Mr. Speaker, and I hope that all of my 
colleagues will join me today in honoring this truly remarkable woman.

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