[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 79 (Friday, June 3, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1038]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF JOHN HARDWICK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 3, 2011

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 
life and legacy of John Hardwick. John Hardwick was the personification 
of a community servant. Born in Miami on March 27, 1970, Hardwick grew 
up in Hallandale, Florida. It is in the City of Hallandale that he 
touched the lives of so many with his hands and his heart.
  Hardwick served as president of the Class of 1988 of Hallandale High. 
By the age of 19 he started his own business as a barber and three 
years later he chose to reinvest and renovate his business rather than 
relocate. He would go on to serve on the Hallandale Beach Chamber of 
Commerce board of directors, he was instrumental in founding Top Shops, 
a consortium of mostly minority owned beauty salons in Miami-Dade and 
Broward counties, and he also served on the committee that gave his 
often forgotten community a name, ``The Palms of Hallandale.''
  Hardwick's community service efforts sent young children to see live 
theatre, he was instrumental in organizing the city's Martin Luther 
King Day parade, and he fought to remove a sanitation transfer station 
thereby keeping his community beautiful. In general, Hardwick was the 
type of individual who could give you a haircut while simultaneously 
educating you about the events in your community. He was the 
cornerstone for personal grooming and civic awareness. Hardwick's life 
was cut short last week by complications he suffered from a stroke at 
the young age of 41.
  Mr. Speaker, John Hardwick kept his community looking good and 
feeling good because he was a good person. It is with privilege and 
sadness that I honor his life today.

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