[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 27, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MR. DONALD GREEN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 27, 2016

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
remarkable public servant, Mr. Donald Green.
  A Coahoma County native, Donald Green is a dedicated and seemingly 
tireless community leader and business owner who has committed his 
career to creating economic and educational opportunities for 
farmworkers and families in the Mississippi Delta.
  As Executive Director of Mississippi Delta Council for Farm Worker 
Opportunities, Inc., Mr. Green leads a staff of 22 providing job 
training and placement services to thousands of individuals every year. 
His organization also hosts a monthly food distribution and offers a 
civilian relief distribution staging area following weather emergencies 
and disasters. Currently, his team is transforming an existing 
warehouse and property into a farmers market, commercial kitchen, 
produce aggregation and food hub to raise incomes for dozens of 
limited-resource and beginning farmers. Prior to becoming the 
organization's chief executive, he was its Chief Financial Officer for 
21 years.
   He served as one of three Associate Tax Commissioners for the State 
of Mississippi and is the second African American in the State of 
Mississippi to do so. An accountant, Mr. Green also owns and operates 
an independent accounting service business.
  Throughout his career, Mr. Green has been an ambassador between 
working people and local businesses. His board service includes: 
Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce; member of National 
Exchange Club; member of Clarksdale Industrial Foundation; member of 
Coahoma Community Development Organization; and member of Clarksdale/
Coahoma County Airport Board. He has served as a State Treasurer of the 
Magnolia Council; Vice President of The Delta Council; member Delta 
State Alumni University Association; former President of National 
Alumni Association; Founder and former President for Mississippi Delta 
Strategic Compact; Treasurer for Mississippi Blues Foundation, former 
President of Friendship Community Federal Credit Union. He was 
recognized in 2004 as Delta Regional Minority Businessman of the Year, 
inducted into the Delta State University Alumni Hall of Fame in 2009, 
and received the Freedom Team Appreciation Certificate for Services to 
Members of the Armed Forces. He is a member of the Clarksdale Rotary 
Club.
  Committed to making higher education more accessible, Mr. Green 
became president of Delta State National Alumni Association in 1995 and 
led a five million dollar capital campaign. That funding has more than 
doubled in the years since and has a significant endowment. He has 
served on the university's foundation board. In 2001, he was appointed 
to a six-year term on the Mississippi State Board of Community and 
Junior Colleges. Co-Founder and President of the Ronald Hoss Bennett 
Foundation, which awards college scholarships to football players from 
local high schools.
  He is known to be a steady, hardworking leader in efforts to increase 
understanding and build relationships in social and economic diversity. 
Mr. Green helped negotiate the partnership between Delta State 
University and Coahoma Community College to purchase the Cutrer 
Mansion, which has evolved into a continuing education center for 
history, culture, and the arts. In 2014, he worked with the City of 
Clarksdale officials, business owners, and community activists to honor 
the life and work of civil rights leader Aaron Henry with a historical 
marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail. He has served on the board of 
Clarksdale-Coahoma County Library and supports the Delta Blues Museum.
  The son of sharecroppers, Mr. Sylvester and Aree Green, Mr. Green 
grew up operating farm equipment in Coahoma County, Mississippi. A 
graduate of Coahoma Agriculture High School, he earned college degrees 
from Coahoma Community College and Delta State University. Mr. Green is 
the first African American to serve as President of Delta State 
University National Alumni Association.
  He and his wife, Nelia, have two sons: Donald, Jr., a biomedical 
engineer living in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Adam, a high school 
student, who participated in Youth Leadership Clarksdale and who is 
currently a freshman at Delta State University majoring in commercial 
design.
  Mr. Green is Chairman of the Deacon Board and Chairman of the 
Building Fund at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Jonestown, 
Mississippi.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing an amazing 
Entrepreneur and Economic Developer that has been instrumental in 
magnifying strides of America's black history.

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