[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1202-E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING CAROL WOOD FOR HER DEVOTION TO THE CITY OF LANSING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 11, 2023

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to a dedicated public 
servant and community leader who has been a constant voice and a 
steadfast advocate for the city of Lansing, Michigan, for decades. 
Carol Hallman Wood was first elected to Lansing's City Council in

[[Page E1203]]

1999, but has been involved in neighborhood and community issues her 
entire life. As she now steps back from elected office, I offer my deep 
gratitude for all she has done to make Lansing a better, stronger 
place.
  Carol was just a toddler when her parents and two siblings moved 
across the country from Colorado to Michigan. They settled in Lansing 
and quickly instilled in their children the notion that there was 
nothing more important than being part of a community and helping the 
people in it. A proud product of Lansing Public Schools, Carol attended 
Michigan Avenue Elementary School, Genesee Street Elementary School, 
West Junior High School, and graduated from J. W. Sexton High School. 
After high school she made a big move to Anchorage, Alaska, where she 
worked for the state's public school library system, but returned to 
Michigan following the death of her sister in a plane crash. This would 
unfortunately not be the only time Carol and her family experienced 
profound tragedy.
  Upon her return to Lansing, Carol picked up where she left off, 
working alongside her mother, Ruth Hallman, to build up the community. 
The two were so close Carol eventually moved right next door, living in 
the very same neighborhood where she grew up. In partnership with 
community groups, the two spearheaded the effort to change the city's 
housing code, turning rentals back into ownership opportunities for low 
to moderate-income residents, They also worked with local law 
enforcement to implement team policing, and in collaboration with 
Neighborhood Watch and the Genesee Neighborhood Association, brought 
the number of homes in the community with documented drug activity down 
from a high of 137 in 1988 to just 6 today.
  But the neighborhood that made Carol who she is also brought her 
greatest pain, when her beloved mother was brutally attacked in her 
home in July of 2007, and died a few days later of her injuries. 
Devastated but unbroken, Carol refused to let this horrific incident 
drive her from her home, and instead redoubled her efforts to fight for 
her community, an angel no doubt fighting right alongside her.
  Six times the voters returned Carol to the Lansing City Council, and 
during her nearly quarter-century tenure she has chaired every 
committee and held virtually every position, including Council 
President on five occasions. She continues to give back to the 
community by serving on various boards and commissions, and as 
executive director of Retired & Senior Volunteer Programs of Ingham, 
Eaton, and Clinton Counties. She is the proud mother of two sons, and a 
grandmother to four.
  Carol personifies the ideals of service, and has shown us all the 
power and true definition of living in community. I thank her for her 
extraordinary devotion to Lansing.

                          ____________________