[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.

                          ____________________