[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 23 (Monday, February 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E220]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING JOAN RICHARDSON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 14, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Joan 
Richardson a long-time community activist in the Mississippi Delta, one 
of America's poorest regions, who has given tirelessly and selflessly 
to improving the lives of many who are in greatest need.
  She lifts up her community not only through her generous volunteerism 
but through her business. Her grant writing and small-business 
assistance company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in grants 
and government contracts to benefit the Delta region. Her company, 
Richardson's Writing Service in Darling, Miss., has for 20 years helped 
community, faith-based and other nonprofit organizations obtain grants 
for programs that benefit children, the elderly and others in need. She 
knows economic development is essential to improving life in Quitman 
County, where she lives, and the rest of the Delta, and works with 
small businesses to develop business plans and win contracts to boost 
the region's economy.
  She is the publisher of By U Magazine, a magazine that highlights the 
good deeds of people in the Delta and calls on them to help their 
neighbors who are in need. She serves on the board of Delta Missions 
Outreach Ministries. She dismisses praise about her community service, 
saying she is only answering God's call and whatever contributions she 
makes is through Him.
  She lives in Sledge, Miss., with her husband, Victor a GED instructor 
at Northwest Community College and in the Quitman County School 
District. Her daughter, Latricia, teaches fifth grade in the school 
district. She has four grandchildren: Imani, Anaiah, Akeria, and India, 
a goddaughter, Monisha Wade and godson, Gerad Burt.
  Mrs. Richardson exemplifies how people in the Delta are building up 
their communities to improve life for everyone, especially those who 
need an extra lift up.

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