    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2025)]
    [Extensions of Remarks]
    [Page E131]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      TRIBUTE TO A BALTIMORE TV ICON: THE LATE REVEREND DR. TIMOTHY LAMAR
                                  TOOTEN, SR.

                                     ______

                               HON. KWEISI MFUME

                                  of maryland

                        in the house of representatives

                           Friday, February 14, 2025

      Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a dear friend, a
    loving family man, an inspiring educator, a devout pastor, an
    accomplished writer, an award-winning journalist, and a person of the
    highest caliber--the late Reverend Dr. Timothy Lamar Tooten, Sr.
      Dr. Tim Tooten was not a native son of Baltimore, but we embraced him
    as one of our own. He gravitated towards journalism as a child,
    interviewing his middle school classmates using a pencil as a
    microphone. Tim's course in life was set in high school, when a teacher
    asked him to record a Public Service Announcement for the National
    Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), urging voter
    registration--and he fell in love with the sound of his voice on the
    air.
      He continued broadcasting as a student at Florida State University.
    His career began in earnest when he was chosen for a competitive
    internship with the American Federation of Television and Radio
    Artists, spending a year in Washington, D.C. learning his trade.
      His next stop was Huntington, West Virginia, where he spent five
    years working for WSAZ-TV. In Huntington, he met the love of his life,
    Charleen Dawson Tooten, and they would spend the next 40 years together
    in blissful matrimony.
      After his time in Huntington was done, Tim moved his family to
    Baltimore, working as a reporter at WMAR-2 for just over a year.
    Following this chapter at WMAR-2, he began selling insurance to support
    his family while continuing to do freelance journalism. This freelance
    work led to his hiring at WBAL-TV, the station that he called home for
    35 years.
      At WBAL-TV, Dr. Tooten was the station's only education reporter, and
    he gradually became one of Baltimore's most recognized faces and most
    trusted voices. He was especially beloved by the children of the
    Baltimore area, who knew that the snow day wasn't official until they
    heard it from Tim.
      Dr. Tooten's voice was respected not only by the people of Baltimore,
    but also by his journalistic colleagues. He was immensely proud of his
    work on the documentary Africa's Maryland, wherein he traveled to
    Liberia to explore that country's historical connections to our state.
    This documentary was lauded by the press, earning a regional Emmy as
    well as the National Headliner Award Best of Show and the National
    Edward R. Murrow Award. His documentary East is East, chronicling life
    growing up as a Black man on Maryland's Eastern Shore, earned him
    another National Headliner Award, and in 2024, Dr. Tooten was inducted
    into the Emmy Silver Circle Hall of Fame, recognizing his 25 years of
    significant contributions to the broadcasting industry.
      Dr. Tim Tooten was a man who wore many hats. He was passionate about
    education, providing mentorship to young Black men at Perry Hall High
    School and dispensing wisdom in his broadcasting classes at Loyola
    University Maryland. He furthered his own education, earning degrees in
    theology and ministry while working full time and raising a family.
      Rev. Dr. Tooten organized his own church, Harvest Christian
    Ministries, and devoted himself to spreading the good word in his
    retirement. He served on the board of the Maryland Bible Society, and
    in 2017, he penned a book, Leading by Example: A Parental Guide to
    Teaching and Modeling Christian Faith at Home, which married his twin
    joys of teaching and preaching.
      Though Tim was taken from us far too soon, I find comfort in knowing
    that the Lord has called him home for a purpose greater than we can
    understand. I take heart in the knowledge that he awaits his loved ones
    in the Kingdom of Heaven, basking in the glory of the Almighty.

                              ____________________