[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E322-E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO CELESTE De LAINE ``CLETE'' BOYKIN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 30, 2022

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
trailblazer, a role model for many, and a strong advocate for her alma 
mater, Clemson University. Celeste De Laine Boykin, known to her 
friends and associates affectionately as ``Clete,'' is being honored by 
the Clemson Alumni Association with the Distinguished Service Award, 
and I echo their recognition of her tremendous work.

[[Page E323]]

  Clete Boykin, is a native of Manning, in South Carolina's 6th 
Congressional District. She is a member of the distinguished De Laine 
family, who initiated the activities in Clarendon County, South 
Carolina that led to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme 
Court case that desegregated public schools. She continues to uphold 
that legacy with her work today.
  Clete grew up in Lancaster, South Carolina, and graduated summa cum 
laude from Lancaster High School. She matriculated at Clemson 
University, which shaped the future trajectory of her life. Clete lived 
on the fourth floor of Benet Hall, and made lifelong friends known as 
the ``Benet Babes,'' who won the 1978 Women's Intramural Flag Football 
Championship. She still sees the group every summer, and, in 2015, the 
Benet Babes established a scholarship fund to give deserving students 
the opportunity to attend Clemson.
  At Clemson, Clete distinguished herself as one of the first African 
American members of the Tiger Band, and still proudly wears her Tiger 
Band jacket in cold Washington winters. She graduated from Clemson with 
honors and received a Bachelor of Science degree in plant sciences.
  Clete continued to break ground by joining E.I. du Pont de Nemours 
and Company as the first African American woman to work as a sales and 
marketing representative in the company's Agricultural Chemicals 
business. Clete rose to manage du Pont's $ 1.5 million plant nursery 
business in Florida. The company then tapped her to join the company's 
government affairs office in Washington, D.C. There she managed a 
variety of policy issues including agriculture, transportation, 
environmental, trade secrets and defense matters related to the 
Kevlar paraaramid synthetic fiber used in protective vests 
and helmets.
  In 1989, Clete earned a Master of Arts in International Relations 
from American University in Washington. She attended the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation's Citizens Academy as a member of its Class of 2011, 
and received the Washington Government Relations Group's Reginald 
``Reg'' Gilliam Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 for her excellence 
as a government relations professional.
  She retired from DuPont in 2015 after 29 years of service, and 
started her own government consulting firm, CDB ProjX. She is often 
seen on Capitol Hill as part of Clemson's governmental affairs 
organization working to build relationships with federal officials and 
promoting her beloved alma mater.
  Her work with Clemson also extends to volunteer roles. Clete has held 
many voluntary-leadership positions, including serving as a former 
member of both the University's Board of Visitors and the Clemson 
University Foundation Board of Directors. Currently, she chairs the 
Clemson Institute for Parks Board of Advisors. She is a member of the 
Clemson University Tiger Band Association and a longtime board member 
of the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. Clemson Club.
  She has helped organize various Clemson events in the Washington 
area, including 2017's Clemson Day at the White House honoring the 
University's national championship football team. She also helps 
students of color in the D.C. area who are interested in attending 
Clemson by connecting them with campus contacts or facilitating campus 
tours.
  In addition to her work with Clemson, Clete serves on the boards of 
the Washington Government Relations Group Foundation and the Potomac 
Riverkeeper Network Leadership Council. She volunteers for McKenna's 
Wagon, a mobile food service that feeds people in need throughout the 
D.C. area, and she has bicycled hundreds of miles to raise money for 
AIDS charities and to support the fight against multiple sclerosis.
  She is a member of the board of the South Carolina Business Council 
and is vice chairman of the board of directors of the Briggs, De Laine, 
Pearson Foundation, which focuses on providing free after-school and 
summer tutoring for individuals from low-income backgrounds in 
Clarendon County, South Carolina.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Clete Boykin on her well-deserved recognition by the 
Clemson Alumni Association. I can think of no greater champion of their 
alma mater, and no one more effective or dedicated to her work than 
Clete. She makes Clemson University and her home state of South 
Carolina very proud.

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