[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING JUDGE VERNELIS K. ARMSTRONG

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 2003

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a very special 
constituent, United States District Court Magistrate Judge Vernelis K. 
Armstrong, on the occasion of her receipt of the Ohio Women's Bar 
Association's Justice Alice Robie Resnick Award of Distinction. This 
award is the OWBA's highest award for professional excellence and is 
bestowed annually on a deserving attorney who exhibits leadership in 
the areas of advancing the status and interests of women and in 
improving the legal profession in the state of Ohio. It gives me great 
pleasure to wish Judge Armstrong my warmest congratulations on this 
truly special occasion.
  The Honorable Vernelis K. Armstrong is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for 
the Northern District of Ohio, assigned to the Western Division in 
Toledo. She has served as a United States District Court Magistrate 
since she was appointed to the Federal bench in September of 1994.
  Judge Armstrong is a 1956 graduate of Wayne State University, and 
also received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 
1960. Prior to her appointment as a Federal Magistrate, Judge Armstrong 
served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Toledo for fifteen 
years, primarily handling civil litigation matters.
  Judge Armstrong has been a member of the Ohio Women's Bar Association 
since 1993. She is currently a member of the Toledo Bar Association 
Round Table, the Minorities in the Profession and Federal Court 
Committees. In the past, she served as Secretary for the Board of 
Trustees for the Toledo Bar Association, on the Bankruptcy Committee, 
as liaison to the Bankruptcy and Minorities in the Legal Profession 
Committees and on the Pro Bono Advisory Board.
  Judge Armstrong's past recognitions and awards include receiving the 
Arabella Mansfield Award by the Toledo Women's Bar Association in 1988, 
the Excellence in Law Award by the Black American Law Students' 
Association (BALSA) in 1989 and 1997, the Milestones Award by the Young 
Women's Christian Association in 1997, and in 1999 she was the 
recipient of the Athena Award by the Chamber of Commerce.
  The OWBA was initially formed in 1991 and is the only statewide bar 
association within Ohio solely dedicated toward advancing the interests 
of women attorneys while encouraging networking and the creation of a 
statewide mentor program for women attorneys.
  On May 1, 2003, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick will 
be presenting Judge Armstrong with the Ohio Women's Bar Association's 
Justice Alice Robie Resnick Award of Distinction at its Annual Meeting 
in Cleveland, Ohio.
  It gives me great pleasure to rise today, Mr. Speaker, and join the 
OWBA in congratulating Magistrate Judge Vernelis Armstrong and wishing 
her continued success.

                          ____________________