[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE TO MAY MARSHBANKS OF LILLINGTON, NC

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                           HON. BOB ETHERIDGE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 2004

  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a public 
servant of the elderly in North Carolina, May Marshbanks, and her 
recent acceptance of the George L. Maddox Award. This award honors 
individuals in North Carolina who have excelled in developing and 
implementing creative programs for older adults. The award symbolizes 
years of tireless effort on the part of Miss Marshbanks to provide much 
needed services to the elderly populace of Harnett County.
  May Marshbanks, who is eighty-six years old, has directed the Harnett 
County aging program for 32 years since the inception of the Harnett 
County Council on Aging in 1971. This marked a second career for Ms. 
Marshbanks, who retired as a principal from the Chapel Hill school 
system and moved back to Harnett County. She has been a passionate 
advocate for the aging and elderly ever since.
  Through her pioneering spirit, Ms. Marshbanks forged a path for the 
Council to develop into the Harnett County Department on Aging. Today, 
the Department delivers a number of important programs to the elderly 
including minor home repair, In-Home Aid, an Elderly Nutrition Program, 
and the Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults. The 
Department provides legal assistance to seniors. It also offers a 
transportation program to provide seniors the ability to live 
independently and to provide them access to medical and social 
services.
  As one colleague stated, ``May Marshbanks is the Harnett County 
Department on Aging. The community sees her and the agency as 
synonymous.'' May Marshbanks has connected her life with others through 
noble causes, and her actions have effected hundreds of lives. She has 
provided needed services for older adults in Harnett County, informed 
local government officials of the needs of the elderly, and developed 
public and private cooperative partnerships among existing agencies and 
programs. I thank May for her service to the citizens of Harnett 
County. She truly is a compassionate person who makes good things 
happen.

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