[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 27 (Friday, February 18, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E275-E276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING MERDIS ANDERSON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Merdis Anderson is a 
native of Amite County, Gloster, Mississippi, where she was reared by 
her maternal Grandmother, the late Mrs. Mary B. Spears. She is the 
devoted and caring wife of Mr. Samuel Charlie Anderson of Lexington, 
Mississippi, and the proud mother of 2 sons, Shawn Christopher Anderson 
and Kevin Keith Anderson. She is also the proud grandmother of 6 
grandchildren. She is a member of Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church 
under the Pastorship of Reverend Walter Eskridge Jr., where she serves 
as Usher Board Leader.
  Upon graduating from Amite County Training School In Gloster, 
Mississippi, Mrs. Anderson attended Mississippi Valley State College, 
presently, Mississippi Valley State University, where she majored in 
Social Science with emphasis on Sociology.
  After graduating from Mississippi Valley State College in 1970, she 
worked in the public schools of Amite County for one semester and one 
summer, where she taught Social Studies and English. In August of 1971, 
she moved to Detroit, Michigan and worked as a secretary/typist for 
Ford Motor Company.
  Realizing that her calling was to teach, mold, and shape the minds of 
boys and girls to new heights in the field of education, Mrs. Anderson 
moved back to Mississippi in June of 1974, and was employed with the 
Holmes County School District as a full time teacher in September of 
1975, at Mileston Elementary School. At Mileston Elementary School, she 
worked and served in numerous capacities for 15 years before being 
transferred to Lexington Elementary School, where she taught first 
grade, fourth grade, and in 1999, she became Lead Teacher where she 
dedicated her services until October of 2004 after which she left to 
work at the Holmes County Vocational-Technical Center.
  Mrs. Anderson is presently employed at the Holmes County Vocational 
Technical Center, where she works diligently with the Staff Development 
Activities, serves as the Student Incentive Chairperson, Character 
Education Chairperson, Monthly Bulletin Board Chairperson, Black 
History Month Activities Chairperson, and Public Relations Coordinator 
for the center.
  Realizing that she could do more to help the boys and girls in Holmes 
County reach new heights in education and become productive citizens in 
a global society, she was instrumental in being hired in 2009 by the 
aggressive, Mrs. Beulah Greer, Director of the Community Learning 
Center, and Mr. Leslie Greer, CEO of the center, as an English teacher, 
to work with students in the Summer Camp Program, where learning takes 
place on a daily

[[Page E276]]

basis. Mrs. Anderson sees the Summer Camp Program as a program where 
the teachers instill in students that, they are somebody, they have a 
sense of pride, and they can become critical and logical thinkers as 
they grow into adulthood, facing the challenges that await them in a 
world of uncertainty. She has worked as a volunteer with the center for 
almost 2 years.
  Mrs. Anderson has taught boys and girls for almost 38 years in the 
field of education, not for the money that the job brings, but because 
teaching has given her rewards that cannot be calculated on an adding 
machine, nor deposited in a bank, but it gives her tangible awards, 
such as the countenance on a child's face that has learned under her 
guidance, a pat on the shoulder, and the knowledge of knowing that 
those vibrant children are enjoying themselves and learning because of 
her efforts and carefully daily planning.
  Her philosophy of teaching is that it takes a special group of people 
with special skills and dedication to focus on the strengths of 
children and not their weaknesses. She is a firm believer that all 
children can learn regardless of their background, and socio-economic 
status, whether it be by visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, or 
some other means.
  To her family, community and friends, she gives thanks for believing 
in her, understanding her, and encouraging her in her endeavors as an 
educator.
  ``To God be the glory for all that He has done.''

                          ____________________