[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 61 (Monday, April 16, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING SHARON McGRIFF PAYNE AS WOMAN OF THE YEAR

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                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 16, 2018

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Ms. 
Sharon McGriff Payne whom I have named Woman of the Year in Solano 
County, California. Woman of the Year recognizes women who have made 
important contributions to California's 5th Congressional District in 
Arts and Culture, Professional Achievement, Entrepreneurship and 
Innovation or Community Service.
  Ms. McGriff Payne was born in Lake Wales, Florida and moved to 
Vallejo, California with her family when she was a young child. After 
graduating from Vallejo High School in 1967, she attended Solano 
Community College, San Jose State University and Sonoma State 
University where she earned a degree in Journalism and History. She 
worked as a journalist in New York, Florida and California until she 
retired in the late 1990s.
  In addition to being a journalist, Ms. McGriff Payne is a writer and 
historian who has researched the history of African Americans in 
Vallejo and the North Bay. Her work has uncovered long forgotten or 
previously unknown information about African Americans who made 
significant contributions to our community throughout history. She is 
the author of two books that chronicle the early African American 
presence in Vallejo and the North Bay. In the early 1990s she launched 
a bi-weekly newspaper, The North Bay Progress, to serve Vallejo's 
African American community.
  For the past year and a half, Ms. McGriff Payne has volunteered with 
Vallejo Together Support Services, an organization that works with 
Vallejo's homeless population. She has a desire to help others, 
especially those who are facing economic and social challenges in our 
community.
  Mr. Speaker, Sharon McGriff Payne has made an undeniable impact in 
Solano County through her research of North Bay African American 
History. Therefore, it is fitting and proper that we honor her here 
today.

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