[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 34 (Monday, March 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF GREATER HARLEM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE'S BELOVED 
   ENTERTAINMENT, ARTS PRODUCER AND PUBLIC SERVANT--DILLARD BOONE II

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 11, 2013

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise with great sadness as I pay tribute 
to one of the most dynamic and influential members of the State of New 
York, Dillard T. Boone II, who has passed away recently. As I speak 
with profound sorrow, I ascend to celebrate a life well lived and to 
remember with fondness the accomplishments of a remarkable leader.
  Mr. Boone was an accomplished senior executive with extensive 
experience in organizational management and business administration. He 
was an experienced project manager in both the public and private 
sectors. A resident of Mount Vernon, New York for 14 years and serving 
in City Government for 3 of those years, Mr. Boone serves his community 
through arts and culture and business. He is the principal producer of 
many of the city's cultural activities. He has worked with local 
businesses in producing special events, such as the two-day Katrina 
Relief Concert held in Mount Vernon.
  He served as the Chairman of the A'Vatar Foundation of Westchester, a 
non-profit, multicultural arts organization, created to fill the gap of 
cultural difference. The organization has collaborated with the City of 
Mount Vernon's Department of Recreation over the past 11 years, in 
producing the Summer Breeze Concert Series, which has presented a 
series of concerts directed at the cultural diversity of the city. 
Jazz, & Gospel, Traditional & Italian Classics, Brazilian Fest, Klezmer 
Music, Dominican Fest, Caribbean, and world music have been the core 
direction that the organization has successfully maintained.
  Previously a Harlem resident for 30 years and a member of St. Charles 
for more than 25 years, Mr. Boone began his professional career working 
for the City of New York. He first served as a supervisor for social 
services, then promoted to Deputy Director, the Office of Labor 
Relations for Human Resources Administration. Upon graduating from 
Cornell University with a Masters degree in Industrial Labor Relations, 
Mr. Boone was then appointed to Assistant Commissioner with the Agency 
for Child Development. There he supervised the technical department of 
engineers, architects, and building inspectors, as the project manager 
for major construction and renovation of 140 head start and day care 
facilities citywide.
  After leaving city government he was appointed to District Manager, 
Community Board #10, Manhattan (Central Harlem) where he was the 
Administrator of the Community Board that represented over 150,000 
Central Harlem residents. Mr. Boone became manager of residential and 
commercial property as on-site manager at Concourse Village, (Bronx, 
NY), 2,000 units and 4 commercial spaces, then Rochdale Village, 
(Queens, NY), 6,000 units and 74 commercial spaces,
  Mr. Boone then embarked upon his current professional career of arts 
and entertainment. He will be remembered as President of the 
International Entertainment Enterprises (IEE), a special events and 
production management company which specializes in the business of the 
arts and entertainment industry. He was the first manager of the 
renowned Boys Choir of Harlem. In addition, he was Concert Manager, for 
Dionne Warwick, the O'Jays, Nancy Wilson, Roberta Flack, Max Roach, 
Kool and the Gang, and many more acclaimed artists.
  To list his numerous affiliations would exhaust the limits of this 
record, but I would be remiss not to acknowledge his significant and 
very productive years as a senior advisor to The Greater Harlem Chamber 
of Commerce. Chamber president, Lloyd Williams expressed, on behalf of 
the Chamber and HARLEM WEEK, Inc., profound sorrow to no longer have 
the mind, thoughts, direction, recommendations and the spirit of 
Dillard as a part of the annual planning and programs. Mr. Williams 
pledges to continue his extended family relationship with Dillard's 
children, two of whom are his ``godchildren.''
  His was indeed a life of remarkable consequence and memorable 
production and he will truly be missed by so many who relied on his 
managerial skills and that magnificent voice and smiling face, and none 
more remorseful than his wife and five children.
  Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 
Emancipation Proclamation, the 50th anniversary of the March On 
Washington, the Inaugural Ceremony of President Barack Obama, let us 
celebrate the life of our beloved Dillard Boone who dedicated his life 
to the black experience and African American culture.

                          ____________________