[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 119 (Thursday, September 19, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1629]]
                 TRIBUTE TO MR. WILLIS ``SNAKE'' MURRAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 19, 2002

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a great privilege to 
pay tribute to my friend and confidant, Willis ``Snake'' Murray, one of 
the most unsung leaders of our Miami-Dade County community and Florida. 
On Thursday, September 26, 2002, in Tampa, Florida, he will be 
conferred the prestigious 2002 C. Colburn Hardy Older Advocate Award. 
This honor symbolizes the state's highest recognition for volunteer 
leadership exemplified by Mr. Murray in his role as advocate par 
excellence for older persons.
  I commend this decision by the officers and members of the Florida 
Foundation on Active Aging, which established this award in June 1998 
to honor C. Colburn Hardy of West Palm Beach. It memorializes Mr. 
Hardy's work as a former New Jersey State Legislator, community leader 
and author of numerous publications and financial books, including 
``Social Security: The Crisis in America's Social Security System.'' It 
also dignifies his spirit of consecration to the well-being of senior 
citizens throughout this nation via his crucial role in the Pepper 
Commission for Older Americans and the White House Conferences on 
Aging.
  Mr. Willis Murray succinctly epitomizes the disarming personality of 
a gentleman and the resilience of a trailblazer. One of the 
distinguished members of Booker T. Washington's Class of 1943 in Miami, 
he went on to obtain his bachelor's and master's degrees from Florida 
A&M University, and attended postgraduate studies at Barry University 
and University of Miami.
  He has always had the knack of being at the forefront of the 
struggles of African-Americans and other minority groups in their quest 
for simple justice and fairness. Nowhere has this struggle been aptly 
defined than in his unequivocal stance of equality of opportunity for 
everyone in our community, be it in the arena of academic excellence 
for all children or in the ongoing struggle for economic and political 
empowerment for disenfranchised Americans.
  Willis Murray is the consummate activist who abides by the dictum 
that those who have less in life, through no fault of their own, should 
be helped by the government, regardless of their race, creed, age or 
gender. While many have been inspired by his brand of unabashed 
sincerity, countless others have been motivated to follow his example 
for his unrelenting penchant for taking up any cause that would 
buttress the dignity of his fellow human beings, particularly our elder 
citizens.
  Countless admirers and friends will honor Mr. Murray at a gathering 
of people from all political and philosophical persuasions throughout 
Florida. This celebration comes at a time when our state and this 
nation sorely need the exemplary services of senior advocates who, 
despite their busy schedules during their retirement, still find time 
to reach out to the less fortunate and create opportunities and 
programs that enhance the lives of our senior citizens.
  This honoree may be just an ordinary guy trying to face his 
responsibilities each day to his own immediate family, and yet he has 
been extraordinary in giving of himself to his fellow human beings. If 
there was ever a more dynamic personality who genuinely exalts the good 
name and stellar reputation of good, public servants, then this honoree 
would admirably fit that billing.
  Mr. Willis Murray is a veritable dynamo as a community activist. A 
leader imbued with a genuine ecumenical spirit, he is also an 
indefatigable organizer for causes that may well indict the status quo 
on one hand, but yet inspire the confidence of our disenfranchised 
senior citizenry on the other. His manifold charitable actions toward 
others genuinely matches the depth of his Judaeo-Christian faith. Time 
and time again he has willingly volunteered his expertise and resources 
to many organizations that often look up to his unique brand of no-
nonsense leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, this deserving honoree proudly symbolizes the 
remarkable, unusual strength of my community and my state of Florida. 
Urged on by his genuine Faith in Almighty God, he so chose to abide by 
the injunction of his stewardship that Faith without good works is 
dead...'' And he so chose to give credence to the fact that God is 
indeed alive and well and present among us through his works of 
volunteerism and good will.
  Mr. Speaker, Willis Murray is a unique manifestation of compassion 
whose courageous vision and pragmatic approach to leadership evokes our 
hope and optimism inherent in the idealism of the American spirit. It 
is my humble prayer that, as my years of service in this august body 
draw to a close, I would become less unworthy of the trust and 
confidence he has so generously entrusted to me for so many years.

                          ____________________