[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 26 (Friday, February 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E267-E268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING ORLANDO CITY COMMISSIONER DAISY WILLIAMS LYNUM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 26, 2010

  Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Orlando City 
Commissioner Daisy Lynum for her life-long civic and community 
involvement. Commissioner Lynum was born in Leesburg, Florida, a small 
town 45 miles northwest of Orlando, and was elected to the Orlando City 
Council on April 14, 1998. Commissioner Lynum's contributions to our 
Central Florida community have had a tremendous positive impact.
  After graduating from Carver Heights High School in 1964, Ms. Lynum 
earned an undergraduate degree in Sociology at Bethune-Cookman College, 
and a graduate degree in clinical Social Work (MSW) from Florida State 
University. As a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar, her post-baccalaureate 
studies were completed at Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges in 
Pennsylvania, and her teaching certification was completed at the 
University of Central Florida. In 2000, Commissioner Lynum completed 
the John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Executives at 
Harvard University. Florida Metropolitan University awarded 
Commissioner Lynum the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in May 
2005.
  After more than 30 years of employment, first as a 5th grade teacher, 
followed by a career as a social worker and administrator for the 
Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services, and a Special Services 
Social Worker for Orange County Public Schools, Commissioner Lynum 
retired in 2002. Simultaneously, her years of community and civic 
involvement have included: Metro Orlando Urban League Board; UCF-MSW 
School of Social Work Advisory Board; National Black Social Workers 
Association; Orlando Science Center's Diversity Committee; USTA 
Diversity

[[Page E268]]

Committee; USTA Florida Section Schools Coordinator, Community Service 
Center Board; Coordinator, Mercy Drive/Pine Hills Children & Youth Task 
Force; City of Orlando's Municipal Planning and Human Relations Boards; 
Vice Chair BBIF Board; Florida League of Cities Urban Administration, 
resolution and policy committees and the Board of Directors; Board of 
Directors for the National League of Cities; and currently she is 
President of the National League of Cities National Black Caucus of 
Local Elected Officials; first Vice President for Women Elected to 
Municipal Government; past president of the Florida Black Caucus of 
Local Elected Officials; Metro Plan Orlando Transportation Board; 
Orange County Voter's League; Life Member NAACP, Nemours Council 
member; and, 2005 Onxy Magazine Poll names Commissioner Lynum as one of 
56 most influential African Americans in the State of Florida.
  Commissioner Lynum's commitment to her community, via her 
professional, personal, and political service is consistent with the 
principles and standards of her beloved sorority, Delta Sigma Theta 
Sorority, Inc.--which she has been a member of since 1966. She has also 
been a member of Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Inc., an organization of 
business and professional women, since December 2008.
  Commissioner Lynum's primary focus is quality of life through 
sustainable neighborhoods for residents in District 5 and the City of 
Orlando. With respect to her expertise in community development and 
sustainable neighborhoods, Commissioner Lynum has represented Orlando 
and the United States at conferences in Japan and Africa, and attended 
the U.S.-China Exchange Association's U.S. Business Matchmaking 
Conference in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
  Madam Speaker, as Black History Month comes to a close, it is with 
great honor that I acknowledge the commitment to Florida that 
Commissioner Lynum has shown through her many leadership roles in the 
community. She has been a leader in the African American community and 
I applaud her social activism.

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