[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 10 (Friday, January 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E63]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN HONOR OF ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA GOLDEN SOROR MAGGIE PARRISH WILLIAMS

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                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 25, 2013

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my 
sincerest congratulations to Golden Soror Maggie Parrish Williams of 
the Gamma Tau Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for 
fifty years of service to this great sisterhood. A reception will be 
held in her honor on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. at the 
Columbus Community Center in Columbus, Georgia.
  Born in Swainsboro, Georgia to the late Ruben and Anna Gibbons 
Parrish, Mrs. Williams is the eighth of thirteen children. She 
graduated with honors from Emmanuel County High School in 1961 and went 
on to attend The Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. 
While a student at Fort Valley State, she participated in the Drama 
Club and Chorus, all while maintaining an above average GPA. As a 
sophomore, she was initiated into the Alpha Beta Chapter of Alpha Kappa 
Alpha Sorority, Inc. on November 10, 1962.
  After graduating from Fort Valley State in 1965 with a Bachelor's 
degree in Science in Education and minors in Science and Mathematics, 
she was awarded the National Science Foundation grant to continue her 
studies at the University of Detroit, where she earned a Master's of 
Art in the Teaching of Mathematics in 1971. Her still unquenched thirst 
for knowledge and education led Mrs. Williams to complete additional 
coursework at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, Georgia State 
University in Atlanta, Georgia, and Columbus State University in 
Columbus, Georgia.
  In 1965, Mrs. Williams worked as a Mathematics teacher at Pineville 
High School in Valdosta, Georgia. In 1967, she moved to Columbus, where 
she worked as a Mathematics teacher at George Washington Carver High 
School. In 1969, she met the love of her life, the late Mark A. 
Williams, and they were married in 1970. They were married for over 41 
years.
  Mrs. Williams continued her service to the Muscogee County School 
District as a Mathematics teacher at Kendrick High School, Rothschild 
Middle School and Spencer High School. She retired in 2002 after 37 
years of devotedly teaching and mentoring young adults and children.
  While teaching in Muscogee County, Mrs. Williams joined Gamma Tau 
Omega, a graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in 1972. 
She has faithfully supported and made various contributions to sorority 
activities and events such as city-wide tutorial programs, the Senior 
Citizens' Christmas Party, and Founder's Day. Mrs. Williams has 
supported scholarships and awards for deserving high school seniors in 
Columbus and surrounding areas through the chapter's foundation, 
SISTERS, Inc. She has also served on the Archives, Leadership, Programs 
and Heritage committees. Through the years, she has made generous 
donations to the chapter, including donations she made in the 1970s 
toward the purchase of the first Gamma Tau Omega sorority house on 
Broadway, and other chapter-owned properties in Columbus.
  In addition to her work and service through Alpha Kappa Alpha 
Sorority, Inc., Mrs. Williams has been a devoted member of First 
African Baptist Church in Columbus for well over 41 years. She has 
served and still serves in many ministries, including the General 
Mission Society, the Senior Choir, the Deaconesses, the Budget and 
Finance Committee and Rebekah Mission Circle, where she served as 
Secretary for nine years. She has achieved the status of ``life 
member'' in several organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha 
Sorority, Inc., the Fort Valley State University National Alumni 
Association, Inc., and the Georgia Teachers of Mathematics. She is also 
a member of the Muscogee County Retired Educators Association, the 
Georgia Retired Educators Association, United Way of the Chattahoochee 
Valley, and the Urban League.
  The presence of Alpha Kappa Alpha is evident in Mrs. Williams' 
family. Her only daughter, Monica Williams Smith, followed in her 
mother's footsteps and was initiated into the Kappa Upsilon Chapter of 
Alpha Kappa Alpha at Valdosta State University in 1996. Her sister-in-
law, Marguerite Parrish, and four nieces, Yvonne Prater, Vanessa 
Parish, Tiffany Parrish and Bakia Parrish, have also all been initiated 
into the great sisterhood.
  Mrs. Williams lives by the following words: ``Our God has done great 
things for all people and we should strive to love more and continue to 
help each other through Jesus Christ Our Savior.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to an outstanding citizen and woman of faith, Mrs. Maggie Parrish 
Williams, as she is honored for her fifty years of dedicated service to 
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Columbus, Georgia community.

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