[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE FLOYD BUCKNER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 16, 2011

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable 
public servant who has served the people of South Carolina's lowcountry 
for more than four decades. Mr. Floyd Buckner has been a member of 
Colleton County Council for 28 years, and was an educator in Colleton 
and Dorchester County School Districts for 39 years. He has earned the 
praise and respect of his fellow citizens and is deserving of this 
recognition.
  Floyd Buckner graduated from Colleton County's Ruffin High School in 
1960. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Benedict College in 
1964, and a master's degree in Education from South Carolina State 
University in 1970.
  He began his teaching career in the mid-1960s in Dorchester County 
schools and rose to the position of principal of Jenkins Hill Middle 
School in Harleyville in 1972. The following year, his home county 
hired Mr. Buckner to serve as Principal of Forest Hills Elementary 
School in Walterboro. In 1975, Mr. Buckner became the director for the 
Title I Program in the Colleton County School District, a position he 
held until his retirement in 2002. In this capacity, he instituted a 
classroom on wheels designed to serve the educational needs of pre-
school children, and received recognition from the U.S. Department of 
Education for the program's effectiveness. His commitment to the 
Colleton County School District was rewarded with the dedication of the 
Floyd Buckner Title I Parent Center in Walterboro in 1995.
  Mr. Buckner also contributed to the education of young people 
statewide. Governor Dick Riley appointed him as a member of a state 
committee tasked with drafting legislation for the Education 
Improvement Act. He also served as President of the South Carolina 
State Association of Elementary Secondary Education Act Board in 1980-
1981.
  In addition to serving our youth in the schools, Mr. Buckner felt 
called to run for elective office. In 1982, he ran for a seat on 
Colleton County Council, and the race earned him the distinction of 
being the first African American to win a run-off election in that 
county. Mr. Buckner has served on Colleton County Council since his 
swearing-in on January 1, 1983.
  During his service on County Council he has been committed to 
delivering the best service to the people of Colleton County with 
limited resources. He is known for ensuring equitable treatment in 
areas such as education, access, and quality of life. He is an expert 
on policy, protocol and procedures, having spent a number of years 
serving as the County Council Chairman. He also helped lead the 
restoration of the historic Old Jail into the building that houses the 
current County Council Chambers. His tremendous service has been 
recognized by Colleton County with the naming of the building at North 
Jefferies Boulevard in Walterboro in his honor.
  Mr. Buckner has also been a committed member of the community. He has 
served on a number of boards including the Lowcountry Council of 
Governments, the Lowcountry Community Action Agency, and the South 
Carolina Migrant Workers Board. He is currently a member of the 
Walterboro-Colleton County Regional Airport Board and the Hollings 
Cancer Center Disparities Advisory Board at the Medical University of 
South Carolina. Mr. Buckner is the first president of the Arabian 
Temple #139, the Walterboro Shrine Club. With his appointment to the 
First Federal Savings and Loan Board, he became the first African 
American in Colleton County to serve on a bank board. He is also the 
first African American to own and publish a newspaper in Colleton 
County.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in commending 
Floyd Buckner for his outstanding lifetime of public service. He is a 
trailblazer and a role model for so many in South Carolina's 
lowcountry, and I am proud to call him a friend.

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