[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 37 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E148-E149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING MR. GERALD MIXON

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 27, 2023

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend my 
personal congratulations and best wishes to an exceptional community 
leader and outstanding citizen, Mr. Gerald Mixon, on his retirement as 
the Planning Director of the Middle Flint Area Planning and Development 
Corporation and the River Valley Regional Commission after 47 years of 
service. His retirement celebration was held on February 17, 2023 at 
the River Valley Regional Commission in Americus, Georgia.
  For nearly five decades, Gerald has been a dedicated leader in the 
Middle and Southwest Georgia community, helping to bring much-needed 
resources and development opportunities to multiple counties in 
Georgia's Second District, including Dooly, Macon, Marion, Schley, 
Sumter, Taylor, and Webster counties. During his tenure, he has 
successfully applied

[[Page E149]]

for countless federal programs to spur community development projects 
in his community, and he has been instrumental in working with local 
government and the various federal departments and agencies to improve 
the quality of life for Georgians.
  As the Planning Director for the Middle Flint Area Planning and 
Development Corporation and the River Valley Regional Commission, 
Gerald Mixon has become a vital resource to the dozens of local 
government officials and non-profit institutions that fall within his 
reach. His deep knowledge and experience of the grant-writing process 
and bottom-up community development has positioned him to serve as an 
essential lifeline for these community leaders who often seek technical 
assistance and sound advice as they work to improve their communities 
and neighborhoods. His service in this regard served the community 
tremendously as local officials are often tasked with working together 
to implement region-wide projects under the Community Development Block 
Grant, including in transportation and infrastructure, housing, and 
anti-poverty programs.
  Gerald has built an impressive career in his lifetime, planning and 
overseeing the successful completion of countless community development 
projects, including leading the efforts to implement numerous 
comprehensive plans for efficient and sustainable solid waste 
management in the Middle Flint and River Valley Regions. Amid frequent 
destructive tornadoes, hurricanes, and other severe weather-related 
incidents, Gerald authored eight pre-disaster plans for counties and 
cities across the region to help mitigate damage and the need for 
costly repairs following disasters. And he modernized his region's 
public safety apparatus by conceptualizing and organizing a seven-
county Enhanced 911 center covering the largest service area in Georgia 
that went on to become the Middle Flint E-911 system, which is still in 
operation today.
  Gerald has accomplished much throughout his life, but none of this 
would have been possible without the Grace of God and the love and 
support of his wife, Diane, and his three children, Heather, Stuart and 
David.
  Sir Winston Churchill often said: ``You make your living by what you 
get; you make your life by what you give.'' The Middle and Southwest 
Georgia region is a better place today because Gerald Mixon gave so 
much to so many for so long to make our communities stronger, better 
place to live. As a man of tremendous work ethic, organizational 
talent, vision, and tact, his life's work has helped create prosperity 
and opportunities in Georgia that many may have once not thought 
possible.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to 
join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the more than 765,000 people 
of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in extending our sincerest 
appreciation and best wishes to Gerald Mixon upon the occasion of his 
retirement from an outstanding career of service to his beloved 
community.

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