[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 92 (Friday, May 15, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E458-E459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF THE LIFE OF WILLIAM COLLEY, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 15, 2020

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I ask for the House's attention 
to recognize the life of Mr. William Colley, Jr. Tommy--as

[[Page E459]]

he was affectionately known--passed away on April 23, 2020, at the age 
of 58. With his passing, the manufactured housing industry lost a 
legend.
  Manufactured homes are a critical source of housing for more than 22 
million Americans, including over 750,000 residents of Alabama. With 
the national homeownership rate at a 50-year low and rents increasing 
at a rapid pace, manufactured homes are one of the most promising 
avenues for addressing our country's affordable housing shortage. Tommy 
understood the importance of manufactured housing, and he worked every 
day to promote and protect the industry.
  Tommy began his career with manufactured housing in 1976, painting 
frames in a plant when he was only 14 years old. After finishing high 
school, he stayed in the industry, later graduating from Troy 
University in Troy, Alabama, with Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in 
Business Administration. By 1992, he set out on his own, opening an 
installation company-Southern Mobile Home Service. Five years later, he 
joined the Alabama Manufactured Housing Commission, where he later 
served as Assistant Administrator.
  He was also serving as Chair of the U.S. Department of Housing and 
Urban Development's (HUD) Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee and 
as Co-Chair of the Southern Region Council of State Administrative 
Agencies. Last September, his office worked with HUD's Office of 
Manufactured Housing Programs to host the ``State Administrative Agency 
and Primary Inspection Agency Southern and Eastern Regional Meeting'' 
in Mobile, Alabama. Two years ago, in recognition of his commitment to 
the manufactured housing industry, he was honored as the ``2018 Alabama 
Manufactured Housing Association Person of the Year'' by the Alabama 
Manufactured Housing Association. In February, he was inducted into the 
Alabama Manufactured Housing Industry Hall of Fame.
  A devoted family man, he and his wife, Lisa, were married for 32 
years. He is also survived by two children--his son, Ethan (Kaela), and 
daughter, Devon (Sam). A life-long resident of Eclectic, Alabama, he 
was also an elder and minister with Mt. Hebron Church of Christ. In his 
spare time, he loved to fish.
  Madam speaker, please join me in recognizing the life of Tommy and 
everything he did to support this industry. He will be missed.

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