[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 76 (Thursday, May 8, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E870-E871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A TRIBUTE TO PHILMORE GRAHAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2008

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today and 
invite my colleagues to join me in honoring Philmore Graham, of 
Vallejo, California, for his many years of service to our Nation and 
our community. Mr. Graham has provided remarkable leadership to our 
young people during his lifetime, especially by founding and then 
expanding the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club.
  Philmore Graham, the ninth of ten siblings, was born August 29, 1938, 
to now deceased parents, John Archie and Louise Graham, in Laurinburg, 
North Carolina. He attended Laurinburg and Lincoln Heights High Schools 
and was a well-rounded student with a 3.9 grade point average. He was 
president of his class from eighth grade through the completion of high 
school, was captain of the football team, played basketball and was 
principal for a day.

[[Page E871]]

  Philmore's father died when he was age 4 and his siblings and he 
missed the first 6 weeks of school to pick cotton and help their mother 
buy food and clothing for school. His hatred of picking cotton inspired 
him to do well in school because their mother would remind them that 
their choice was either go to school or continue to pick cotton.
  Philmore graduated from Tennessee State University with bachelor of 
science degrees in mechanical and metallurgical engineering in May of 
1962. He has done graduate studies in material science at UCLA and UC 
Berkeley. He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air 
Force through the University's ROTC program. While in the Air Force, he 
served as a project engineer for the Titan Intercontinental Ballistic 
Missile Program at Norton Air Force Base, San Bernardino, California, 
from 1962-1965. During his tour of duty here, he worked in the 
Materials Engineering Department and developed a number of material 
specifications for missile components. He received a Superior 
Accomplishment Award for completing a record number of projects 
updating the Titan and Atlas Missile programs.
  Philmore also worked in the community while at Norton Air Force Base. 
In 1964, he spearheaded the project to establish a new chapter of the 
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Pi Rho Chapter, in San Bernardino, 
California. The chapter offered scholarships and social-economic 
programs to the community under his leadership. He was selected as 
``Chapter and District Omega man of the Year.''
  Philmore received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force in 
August 1965 and accepted a position with Mare Island Naval Shipyard in 
Vallejo, California, in October 1965, where he directed the Foam 
Salvage Vessels Research and Development Program. He received a 
Superior Accomplishment Award for developing an economical method of 
testing the flotation material in the laboratory rather than the costly 
ocean testing.
  In 1972, Philmore was promoted to technical support branch head of 
the Nuclear Inspection Division of Mare Island Nuclear Submarine 
Overhaul Program. He received a third Superior Accomplishment Award for 
Outstanding Supervision of Training, Technical Support and Records of 
Naval Nuclear Work. From 1979 to 1983, Graham worked as an internal 
auditor for the Nuclear Reactor Division of the Nuclear Engineering 
Department and was assigned as the Director of Training for the 
department and supervised the training of some 250 engineers and 
technicians. In 1986, he was promoted to Supervisor, Nuclear Engineer 
and became the first and only African American supervisor in the 
Nuclear Engineering Department's history of Mare Island Naval Shipyard. 
During his administration, the Department received the highest grades 
to date on written exams during an audit from Washington, DC, and 
Philmore was awarded one of the highest monetary awards in the history 
of the Nuclear Engineering Department's incentive awards program for 
outstanding performance in upgrading the training program.
  Philmore continued his work in the community by establishing a new 
chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in Vallejo. In 1966, he started 
the Continentals of Omega Boys Club with six boys; it has grown to more 
than 500 members and is now called the Continentals of Omega Boys & 
Girls Club, Inc. The organization is considered one of the top boys and 
girls clubs in the country. The club has produced a number of doctors, 
lawyers, businessmen, educators, engineers, skilled workers, and many 
other outstanding citizens. Academics is the major focus of the club 
and more than 70 percent of the membership achieve school honor rolls 
each year. More than 200 members have attended colleges and trade 
schools across the country and Philmore and members have received more 
than 63 awards for outstanding community contributions during the 
club's existence. When he retired from Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 
Philmore devoted himself completely to the club, growing it into the 
valuable asset it is today.
  Through the years Philmore was nominated for a multitude of awards 
and is the proud recipient of the NAACP Outstanding Citizen of the 
Year, Good Neighbor Award, Salute to America Lifetime Merit Award, 
Profile of Excellence Award, Martin Luther King, Jr., Humanitarian 
Award, ``Who's Who'' among Black Americans, Outstanding Young Men of 
America and several selections as Omega Man of the year and Citizen of 
the Year for the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
  Philmore has always been active with Friendship Baptist Church in 
Vallejo, where he served 10 years as superintendent of Sunday Church 
School and has taught Sunday School for 37 years, including his years 
in high school.
  He was married to the late Jamella Nelson Graham and they have two 
children, daughter, Deidre LeNore Graham and son, Montoya Reed, both 
graduates of Tennessee State University. Deidre obtained degrees in 
English and criminal justice and Montoya' earned a BS degree in biology 
and has done graduate study at TSU in animal science.
  Madam Speaker, because of Mr. Graham's devotion to his family, his 
community, and his country, I am delighted to have this opportunity to 
recognize his tireless efforts and ask all Members of the House to join 
me in wishing him well.

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