[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E936]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO ERNESTA G. PROCOPE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Ernesta Bowman in 
recognition of the 50th anniversary of the company she founded and for 
her commitment to providing financial services to underserved 
communities.
  Ernesta G. Procope, formerly Ernesta Bowman founded E.G. Bowman Co. 
Inc., a commercial insurance brokerage firm, in the early 1950s soon 
after the death of her first husband. The company began as a homeowners 
and auto insurance agency in front of a storefront in Bedford-
Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. It is now grown to be a large commercial lines 
brokerage on Wall Street and the largest minority-owned and woman-owned 
insurance brokerage firm in the U.S., celebrating its 50th Anniversary. 
Procope is still the CEO and president of the agency.
  In addition to servicing churches, colleges and social agencies, the 
firm's clients have included several of the Fortune 500 companies such 
as Tiffany & Co., Avon Products, American Express, IBM, Philip Morris, 
PepsiCo Inc. and General Motors. Among Bowman and its president's 
notable achievements include fighting to implement the New York State 
Property Fair Plan, which created an insurance pool to cover properties 
in previously redlined areas, and winning a bid solicited by the U.S. 
Information Agency to write insurance worldwide for Fulbright Scholars. 
The firm also became the insurance broker of record for the U.S. 
portion of the Alaskan Pipeline.
  Procope was named Woman of the Year by former First Lady Patricia 
Nixon in 1972 and was also appointed Special Ambassador to The Gambia 
by President Ford. Often referred to as the First Lady of Wall Street, 
Procope has been recognized by Business Insurance magazine as one of 
the 100 leading women in the insurance industry and by Crain's as one 
of the 100 Leading Women in business. Procope holds honorary doctor of 
law degrees from Howard University, Adelphi, Marymount Manhattan 
College and a doctor of humane letters from Morgan State University.
  Mr. Speaker, Ernesta G. Procope has served an exemplary role model 
for women and minorities in the business world and has worked to ensure 
that all communities are treated fairly by insurance firms. As such, 
she is more than worthy of receiving our recognition today and I urge 
my colleagues to join me in honoring this truly remarkable woman.

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