[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL A. OLMEDA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of Michael A. Olmeda for his 
commitment to serving his community through active civic participation.
  Since 1990, Michael has been a social and policy advocate in the 
Brooklyn community, focusing on issues of substance abuse prevention, 
housing development, and senior citizen advocacy. As a member of 
prominent local and citywide organizations, he has taken an active role 
in raising community awareness about the problems facing our community 
as well as working to solve those problems.
  For several years, Michael has worked as Chief of Staff for 
Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns. Serving as a key member of the 
Assemblyman's staff, he has played an integral role in implementing 
many of the Assemblyman's annual community service programs, such as 
the senior conference, the community service awards program, the turkey 
drive, and the annual toy drive.
  As a child, Michael grew up around politics in the Bronx, with his 
mother's active involvement in Community Schools District 9 politics. 
As a teenager, he worked with a local group called the National 
Association for Puerto Rican Affairs (NAPRA), where he learned his way 
around campaigns, stuffing envelopes, working poll sites, and getting 
to know the political structure of the Bronx. After a brief tour of 
service with the U.S. Army, Mike came back to the Bronx to work as a 
butcher. Realizing this was not his professional calling, he moved to 
the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, where he met Senator Ada L. Smith. 
Involved with politics again, Mike's first Brooklyn campaign was with 
Councilman Martin Malave Dilan.
  Since then, he has continued to grow within the political community, 
managing campaigns for many prominent local and statewide officials. 
Most recently, he worked on the McCall for Governor and the Fernando 
Ferrer for Mayor campaign. A recent graduate of Long Island University, 
Mike hopes one day to work with local community based organizations, 
implementing programs that demonstrate the importance of computer 
literacy in our community. Michael has been married to his wife Cecelia 
for the past 20 years and they have four beautiful children Steven, 
Racquel, Travis, and Mikey.
  Mr. Speaker, Michael A. Olmeda has served his community admirably 
through both his professional life and volunteer activities. As such, 
he is more than worthy of receiving our recognition. I hope that all of 
my colleagues will join me in honoring this truly remarkable 
individual.

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