[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4146]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO MRS. CLEMENTINE WRENN ODOM

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 13, 2003

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Mrs. 
Clementine Wrenn Odom is often referred to as ``The Tax Lady,'' because 
in the late 1940's she began to help farmers with their income tax 
filings and soon found herself in the tax business. For her services, a 
farmer would often give her ham, bacon, vegetables or other perishable 
items. She received so much that she purchased a freezer! When asked 
what she charged, her reply was usually ``whatever you can afford to 
give me'' and to this day she has served four generations of families.
  She was born February 15, 1916 in Smithfield, Virginia to Fred 
Douglas and Norma Whitehead Wrenn. Although formal education for 
African-Americans ended after 6th grade, she attended boarding school 
in North Carolina and then went on to attend Virginia Union University 
and graduated from Virginia State College. Her teaching career came to 
an end when she married Mr. Woodrow Odom, a Hampton Institute graduate 
who came to Isle of Wight County as an agricultural extension agent. In 
1960, Mrs. Odom accompanied her husband to Ghana, West Africa where he 
was Extension Advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture.
  She established the first Head Start Center in Isle of Wight County, 
Virginia and neighboring counties. She taught in a one-room school for 
12 years in Surry County, Virginia until 1937 and never let a child's 
need go unmet. When the African-American students at the school wanted 
to form a band, she went to the music director at Virginia State 
College for guidance and organized the fundraisers and got several of 
the instruments donated.
  Mrs. Odom is an accomplished musician and mastered the piano and pipe 
organ at an early age. She taught piano lessons in her home and was 
organist and director of music at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. She is 
the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including Woman of 
the Year (twice) and the ``Pinnacle of Success'' award; but she still 
considers her family her greatest achievement.
  She has three daughters and a son, ten grandchildren (one deceased) 
and one great-granddaughter. Her children and eight of the nine 
grandchildren are college graduates, several with advanced degrees.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that all my colleagues today will join me in 
paying special tribute to not only an everyday ordinary woman, but also 
a woman who has done extraordinary things in her time! I yield back the 
balance of my time.

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