[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E125-E126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CELEBRATING BETTY NIXON'S PIONEERING CAREER OF SERVICE TO HER COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM COOPER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 17, 2007

  Mr. COOPER. Madam Speaker, today I rise on behalf of the Tennessee 
delegation, in particular Mr. Cohen, Mr. Davis, Mr. Gordon, and Mr. 
Tanner, to pay tribute to a lifelong activist and community servant, 
Betty C. Nixon, upon the occasion of her retirement from Vanderbilt 
University. Betty's last 17 years have been spent building bridges 
between Vanderbilt and the Nashville community, firmly connecting this 
institution to the city she loves, and yet this work represents only a 
small sliver of her service to her fellow citizens.
  Betty's ties to Nashville run deep. She grew up there, graduating 
from Hillsboro High School in 1954 and heading to Texas, where she 
would graduate from Southern Methodist University in 1958. Most people 
would rest or retire after teaching high school in Alabama for the 
decade of the 1960s, but not Betty. By 1975, she had been elected to 
her first of three terms in the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and 
Davidson County and was serving as deputy press secretary for Tennessee 
Governor Ray Blanton. It was only the beginning of her public service.
  In 1982, the same year she graduated from the Vanderbilt Owen 
Graduate School of Management, Betty became the first woman to chair 
the Metro Council Budget Committee. Two years later, she managed the 
statewide political campaign for Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro, 
and four years after that, she managed James R. Sasser's successful bid 
for the U.S. Senate. Along the way, Betty ran for mayor in 1987 and 
1991, and once again she blazed a trail: Betty was the first woman to 
run for mayor in Nashville's history.
  Like many civic-minded individuals, Betty moved to Washington, but 
after a year of professional service to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on 
Intergovernmental Relations,

[[Page E126]]

she returned to the community that she loved. From 1990 until 2007, 
Vanderbilt has benefited from her steady service, and the University 
knows it. In many ways, Betty defined both her role at the school and 
the school's role in the community; she retires as Assistant Vice 
Chancellor for Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations and 
leaves as her legacy an institution that fully and conscientiously 
participates in its community. And Vanderbilt has immortalized her by 
dedicating the Betty C. Nixon Center for Community Connections in her 
honor.
  Betty's ceaseless service to Nashville government and nonprofit 
organizations belies the limited number of hours in a day. Oasis 
Center, Nashville Electric Service, Tennessee State University Business 
Incubation Center, Bill Wilkerson Hearing and Speech Center, Davidson 
County Election Commission, Nashville Women's Breakfast Club, United 
Way, Project PENCIL, West End United Methodist Church, Citizen's Bank, 
Youth Encouragement Services, Tennessee Women's Political Caucus, YMCA 
Black Achievers, Rochelle Center, League for the Hard of Hearing, 
Alcohol and Drug Council of Middle Tennessee, WIN--these groups and 
many others have all benefited from Betty's skill, charm, and grace. 
She has been honored as a YWCA Woman of Achievement and has received 
the prestigious Athena Award.

  Madam Speaker, Nashville is a stronger, more vibrant community 
because of Betty Nixon's commitment to improving the lives of those 
around her. Today I rise to pay tribute to her legacy, express our 
Nation's gratitude for her service, and wish her many more years of 
contented engagement with a city that has been forever changed by her 
efforts.

                          ____________________