[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E405]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A TRIBUTE TO MONICA PEARSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAVID SCOTT

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 21, 2012

  Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, Monica Pearson is a familiar 
face to metro Atlanta's residents, though most know her by her former 
name--Monica Kaufman. For the past 37 years, Monica has anchored WSB 
TV's Channel 2 Action News. The character and amount of trust she has 
built as Channel 2's nightly newscaster is laudable, but perhaps more 
important are the barriers she broke as she developed that reputation. 
Born and brought up in the Civil Rights era, Monica became not only the 
first African-American, but also the first woman to anchor a daily 
evening newscast on WSB in 1975.
  Throughout her long career, Monica has accumulated an even longer 
list of awards and achievements. All in all, she has won thirty Local 
and Southern Regional Emmy awards. When she saw injustice or a story 
that needed to be heard, she was there reporting on it--first at the 6 
p.m. and 11 p.m. segments, and later at 4 p.m. Her hard-hitting 
investigative journalism cuts at all different issues. In 1992 she 
spoke out on behalf of women and girls in Georgia when she found out 
that the Georgia High School Association's all-male executive committee 
did not have a state-wide competition for girls' soccer or 
cheerleading. She was awarded the Women's Sports Journalism Award for 
Local Television Reporting from the Women's Sports Foundation and 
Miller Lite for her report.
  Monica has been honored for bringing attention to a wide range of 
issues--from the ``HOT FLASH! The Truth about Menopause'' documentary 
that won local and national awards in 1994 to the ``Prejudice and Hate: 
Georgians and the Holocaust'' documentary that led her to win the 
Georgia Commission on the Holocaust's Humanitarian Award in 1977. Her 
sense of civic duty, compassion and curiosity has distinguished her 
from her peers, winning an Emmy Award for Best Feature Program--
``Monica Kaufman Closeups,'' the National Foundation for Women 
Legislators' ``Media Excellence Award'' and the Georgia Commission of 
Women's ``2004 Georgia Woman of the Year.''
  While devoting her life to journalism, she has also deeply involved 
herself in the community. She remains a passionate supporter of the 
Metropolitan United Way, the organization that helped her move beyond 
her poor background to become an award-winning newscaster. Since then, 
she has served as Chair of Atlanta's United Way board, the first 
African-American and only the second woman. Her dedication to the 
organization might be due in no small part to the fact that her 
daughter was adopted through a United Way agency. In her own words, 
``United Way literally unites people.''
  United Way is not the only organization that has touched Monica's 
heart. For many years, Monica ran in the Susan G. Komen's Race for the 
Cure. She continued to run in the race and volunteer for the 
organization until the year she herself was diagnosed with breast 
cancer. Her reaction to this cancer is a story that truly touched my 
heart. A very religious woman, Monica did not let fear cripple her--
instead she left everything to God. She prayed, ``Thy will be done, O 
Lord, not mine.'' ``If you are really strong in your faith, then you 
don't worry about the outcome,'' she said. The outcome is obvious--
Monica remains to this day a strong, dedicated woman. She is both an 
inspiration and a role model. Monica will be retiring in July, but I 
know her character, personality and spirit will not let her keep still. 
I wish her the very best in her future endeavors, and may we continue 
to hear of her excellent work for her community. God Bless.

                          ____________________