[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H2446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  JIM RICHARDSON POST OFFICE DESIGNATION IN CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

  (Mr. WATT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, later today, with the bipartisan unanimous 
support of the members of the North Carolina delegation, I will be 
dropping a bill to rename the United States Post Office at 2127 
Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte, North Carolina, in honor of Jim 
Richardson, one of my constituents.
  James Franklin Richardson, Sr., known by most people simply as Jim, 
was born in 1926 in Charlotte. In 1949, Jim began a 33-year career with 
the United States Postal Service. During his 33-year career, Jim had 
numerous positions, including Postal Service Clerk in the Charlotte 
Post Office and Railway Postal Service Worker. He subsequently held a 
number of supervisory positions and retired as the U.S. Postmaster in 
Mt. Holly, North Carolina, receiving a certificate of appreciation from 
the U.S. Postal Service.
  I honor him today and will drop this bill. I ask for support from my 
colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jim Richardson, a man who has 
dedicated a lifetime to making the world around him a better place. As 
a lasting tribute to Jim's dedication to his country, his community and 
to the State of North Carolina I will shortly introduce legislation to 
designate the United States Post Office at 2127 Beatties Ford Road in 
Charlotte, North Carolina as the ``Jim Richardson Post Office.''
  Mr. James Franklin Richardson, Sr., known by most people simply as 
``Jim,'' was born on May 20, 1926 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He grew 
up in Charlotte where he attended Isabella Wyche Elementary and 
graduated from Second Ward High. Jim served in the United States Navy 
during World War II and, following an honorable discharge, attended 
Johnson C. Smith University, where he graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor 
of Science degree in Physical Education and General Science.
  In 1949 Jim began a 33-year career with the United States Postal 
Service. During his 33-year career. Jim held numerous positions within 
the Postal Service, including serving as Postal Service Clerk in the 
Charlotte Post Office and later as a clerk with the Railway Postal 
Service, where he served on many train routes. When mail routes on 
trains were eliminated, Jim returned to the Charlotte Post Office and 
held a number of supervisory positions. He served the last eight years 
of his tenure as U.S. Postmaster in Mt. Holly, North Carolina and 
received a Certificate of Appreciation from the United States Postal 
Service in Recognition of Exceptional Performance in the Interest of 
Improved Postal Service.

  In 1985 Jim was elected to the North Carolina House of 
Representatives, where he served one two-year term before being elected 
to the North Carolina Senate in the Senate District I previously 
represented. He served four terms in the state Senate before his 
retirement in 1994. With strong, bi-partisan encouragement, Jim ran for 
and was elected to the Mecklenburg County Commission where he served 
six years. There are few people I know in North Carolina who enjoy the 
kind of bi-partisan admiration Jim has that I believe results from his 
affable demeanor, willingness to work on issues across party lines and 
willingness to vote his convictions without regard to partisan 
expectations.
  I hope this House will join me by honoring Jim Richardson for his 
civility and for his role as a true American patriot, a great 
communicator and a tireless voice for the voice-less.

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