[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF NELSON AND BORDEN McGAHEE--30 YEARS OF MARRIAGE AND SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2006

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a couple 
from my district, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson McGahee of Columbus, Georgia, who 
on May 15th of this year celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.
  Nelson served his country in the United States Army before beginning 
a career as a civil servant at Fort Benning in Columbus. He has 
continued to serve his community as an active member of the Columbus 
Jaycees and the Columbus Airport Authority.
  His wife, Borden Black McGahee, has made her career in broadcast 
journalism. She grew up as a self-professed ``Army brat,'' and became 
an avid music lover at the tender age of 3 years old while attending 
the opera with her mother, a season ticket holder. This love of music 
brought her to the radio, where she became the news director of an 
Alabama radio station--a unique position at the time for a woman in 
Alabama. Upon moving to Columbus, she soon moved to television, where 
she served as the news director for all three of the affiliate news 
stations in the city. She left journalism to work in public relations 
for the Muscogee County School District and currently does freelance 
writing for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and also for Columbus and the 
Valley Magazine.
  Throughout their three decades together, the McGahee's have enjoyed 
Nelson's passion for all things railroad. Nelson's great-grandfather 
was a railroad employee, which sparked in Nelson a lifelong interest in 
trains. Their Columbus home is filled with railroad memorabilia from a 
variety of historic rail lines.
  In tribute to this shared interest, the couple has chosen to spend 
their 30th anniversary on a train ride in a car filled with history. 
They secured a ride from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington, D.C. 
aboard a 1930 Pullman car pulled by Amtrak. In addition to its age, 
this car has had its share of famous passengers. Former presidents 
Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have all taken trips 
in this car. Past presidential candidates, Senators John Kerry and John 
Edwards, and singer Aretha Franklin, have also traveled on this car. 
Because of its illustrious passengers, the car has been fitted with 
Secret Service-approved armor plating and bullet-proof windows, which 
lie hidden behind the tastefully restored antique features.
  Five friends have joined the McGahee's on this voyage, which will 
include a stop at ``Old Ebbitt Grill,'' a legendary restaurant in the 
heart of Washington, D.C. This restaurant has served nearly every major 
American politician throughout its 150-year history.
  Nelson and Borden McGahee are wonderful people who have shared a 
wonderful marriage. Their love for each other is inspirational, and 
surely their next 30 years will be as passionate as the first. This 
Southwest Georgia couple has chosen a distinctively American way to 
celebrate their anniversary and we wish them nothing but happiness as 
they proceed full-steam ahead into their future.

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