[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11137-11138]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RECOGNIZING THE GARY, IN NAACP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2003

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to recognize 
and commend the members of the Gary branch of the National Association 
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). On Friday, May 9, 2003, 
the Gary NAACP will hold its 40th Annual Life Membership Banquet at St. 
Timothy Community Church in Gary, Indiana.
  The Gary NAACP was organized in 1915 by a group of residents to 
monitor and defend the rights of African-Americans in Northwest 
Indiana. The national organization, of which the Gary branch is a 
member, focuses on providing better and more positive ways of 
addressing the important issues facing minorities in social and job-
related settings. Like the national organization, the Gary branch of 
the

[[Page 11138]]

NAACP serves its community by combating injustice, discrimination, and 
unfair treatment in our society.
  The primary focus of the NAACP continues to be the protection and 
enhancement of the civil rights of African-Americans and other 
minorities. Today, that fight for equity and quality extends to many 
issues including health care for minorities. Thus, the theme for the 
evening is, Taking the Next Steps to Reduce Health Disparities. Long 
before it became a broad based public concern, efforts were underway to 
ensure that economic and social barriers would not lead to increasingly 
severe health crises in minority communities. The featured speaker, Dr. 
Willarda Edwards, National Health Director for the NAACP, will speak 
about how the NAACP has been leading the effort to inform and educate 
the community about health care costs; quality and access; disease 
prevention; health care professions and training; and youth and elderly 
issues.
  Further, this year the Gary NAACP will honor two outstanding 
community leaders for their lifelong efforts to further equality in 
society as well as one sorority. Mr. John Betjeman, retiring CEO of 
Methodist Hospitals, will receive the Benjamin Hooks award and Dr. 
William Mays, CEO of Mays Chemical, will receive the Roy Wilkins award. 
Additionally, joining more than four hundred outstanding civil, 
community, and religious leaders of the region, the following 
distinguished individuals will be inducted as life members of the Gary 
NAACP in the categories indicated. Persons receiving the vintage life 
membership include: Dharathula Millender, Dorothy Clark, Anna Connor, 
Dr. FranCina Conard, Delorise Webster, and Rev. Samuel Roberts. Those 
receiving silver life memberships include: Roosevelt Allen, Jr., Ella 
Bradford, Valerie Allen Broadnax, Jacqueline Hall, Esq., and Christina 
Sally. St. Timothy Community Church will be receiving the gold life 
membership and Steven Christopher Tinsley and the Youth Church at St. 
Timothy Community Church will receive junior life memberships.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join 
me in paying tribute to the new life members as well as the other 
members of the Gary NAACP for the efforts, activities, and leadership 
that these outstanding men and women have championed to improve the 
quality of life for all residents of Indiana's First Congressional 
District.

                          ____________________