[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 72 (Friday, May 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. EFFIE C. GREAR

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 18, 2012

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
memory of Dr. Effie C. Grear, who died on May 16, 2012. Dr. Grear, a 
widely known and greatly beloved figure in her home town of Belle 
Glade, Florida and the other communities surrounding Lake Okeechobee, 
dedicated more than 50 years of her life as an educator. She earned her 
B.A. in Music Education from West Virginia State University, her M.A. 
in the same major from The Ohio State University, and her Doctorate in 
Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
  Highlights of her career included organizing the first bands at 
Florida A&M University High School in Tallahassee and Smith-Brown High 
School in Arcadia, Florida. She later became Band Director at Lake 
Shore High School in Belle Glade and then Assistant Principal at that 
school. After moving to the Assistant Principal position at Glades 
Central High School, she eventually became Principal in 1976, a 
position she held until retiring in 1976.
  Dr. Grear had a long record of community involvement as a member of 
the Advisory Boards of Glades Central High School's Criminal Justice 
Academy and the Glades Community Development Corporation, the Florida 
and National Associations of Secondary School Principals, the Palm 
Beach County Criminal Justice Commission, and the Association of School 
Curriculum Development. At the time of her passing, she was serving as 
a Commissioner on the Health Care District of Palm Beach County and its 
representative to the Glades General Hospital Advisory Board.
  Among her many awards and honors are Belle Glade, Florida Chamber of 
Commerce Citizen of the Year (1982), Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Humanitarian Award from the Urban League of Palm Beach County (1988), 
Palm Beach County NAACP Community Service Award (1989), and the Florida 
Association of Women's Clubs Hattie T. Dorah Woman of the Year Award 
(1990). In 1991, she was named Florida Secondary School Principal of 
the Year. The following year, Dr. Grear was honored with the Ida S. 
Baker Distinguished Black Educator Award by the Governor and the 
Cabinet in Tallahassee.
  In 2000, the Palm Beach County School Board recognized her long 
record of service to the boys and girls of the Glades area by naming 
the athletic field at Glades Central High School after her. That same 
year, I honored her myself with my Educational Leadership Award for 
Commitment to Boys and Girls in Palm Beach County, Florida. She was 
recognized again by Palm Beach Community College in 2004, when they 
gave her their Community Leadership Award during their annual Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance.
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Grear was married to the late William A. Grear, the 
first African American to serve as a City Commissioner in Belle Glade, 
Florida. The couple had two children, Rhonda Grear, a Registered Nurse, 
and William Grear, Jr., a digital technician with Bell South 
Corporation and former Belle Glade City Commissioner. Dr. Effie Grear 
enjoyed enormous respect among everyone in the educational field and 
all those familiar with her devotion to children and her love for her 
community. She was a good friend and mentor to many and she will be 
dearly missed.

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