[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 76 (Thursday, May 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E860-E861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MOURNING THE PASSING OF RONALD D. BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN LEWIS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2008

  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, on Monday, the city of Atlanta 
lost one of its most

[[Page E861]]

influential residents and a pillar of the community, Ronald Brown.
  Ron Brown was the head of Atlanta Life Financial Group, a company 
that is a historic institution. The 103-year-old company was founded by 
a former slave by the name of Alonzo Herndon and is the oldest and 
largest black-owned, privately held insurance company in the country. 
Ron was a major factor in Atlanta Life's success.
  Ron Brown expanded the company's scope from strictly an insurance 
business to diversifying into three divisions: Atlanta Life Insurance 
Co., Atlanta Life Investment Advisors and Jackson Securities. Atlanta 
Life Financial possesses $16 billion in policies and manages $1 billion 
in assets. While achieving great business success, Ron advocated that 
companies have not only a responsibility to make a profit but to also 
get involved within its community. Ron servw on corporate and civic 
boards. He was a big believer of providing opportunities to children, 
sharing business experiences with them and meeting with student groups 
at the company headquarters.
  Ron Brown accomplished much in his life. Through the many fruits of 
his labors from a life that was cut too short, Ron's impact will live 
on. With his passing, Atlanta has lost a figure of good and of 
progress.

                          ____________________