[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





RECOGNIZING TAMPA BAY'S TRAILBLAZER RUTH DUNCAN BELL, IN HONOR OF BLACK 
                             HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 5, 2024

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during Black History 
Month to celebrate the life of service of a true public servant and 
philanthropist in the Tampa Bay area, Mrs. Ruth Duncan Bell.
  Mrs. Bell was born in Lansing, Michigan and received her bachelor's 
degree in mass communications from Arizona State University and after 
moving to the Tampa Bay area she obtained a master's in public 
administration from the University of South Florida. She has worked at 
the federal, state and local levels of government and served as an 
advocate for the public employment agencies associations in Washington, 
D.C.
  After 27 years of service as senior vice president of public affairs, 
Mrs. Bell retired from the LifeLink Foundation, which is a non-profit 
that facilitates the recovery of life-saving organs and tissue for 
transplantation. She has also participated on national professional 
organization boards, related to organ and tissue donation, and she is 
committed to increasing awareness and donor registration for those in 
need of life-saving transplants.
  Mrs. Bell's work in the organ donation and transplantation community 
is nationally recognized. In 2018, in Madrid, Spain before the 27th 
International Congress of the Transplantation Society, she presented 
``Success of a Multicultural Donation Education Program to Increase 
African American Organ Donation in a Donor Service Area with a High 
African American Population,'' which is a work showcasing best 
practices that led to successful organ donation education and 
registration programs inclusive of the African American community.
  Education is also an important part of Mrs. Bell's life and she and 
her husband have worked to improve the lives of African American 
students. During her time at Arizona State University, she and her now 
husband Jerry noticed friends or acquaintances leave on school break 
and not return due to financial reasons. It was at this time that they 
both agreed that if they were ever in a position to help, they would 
prevent this from happening.
  At their alma mater Arizona State University, they established the 
Jerry and Ruth Bell W.P. Carey Black Student Success Scholarship for 
any students engaged with the Black Business Student Association or a 
similar association that supports Black students at ASU. They were also 
the first Black couple to endow a scholarship for Black students at the 
University of South Florida, and to date it has had a significant 
impact in the lives of more than 100 young people who have obtained 
their college degree through this fund. Mrs. Bell is also an active 
member of Tampa Alumni Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the 
Tampa Chapter of The Links, Inc., the Athena Society and numerous other 
professional organizations.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Tampa Bay community, I am proud to 
recognize Mrs. Ruth Duncan Bell for her undeniable impact on our 
community and her unwavering commitment to supporting young African 
Americans through their college journey.

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