[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4010]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       A TRIBUTE TO MARY HARVELL

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mary Harvell.
  Mary Harvell is a pillar in our community who has tirelessly served 
on our behalf for many years. She was born in the small town of 
Glenville, Georgia. She is the seventeenth child out of eighteen born 
to Wilbert and Leressie Brown. As a young girl, Mary dreamed about 
migrating to New York City. Fortunately, she got her wish and relocated 
to the ``Big Apple'' as a young child. She attended public schools in 
Bedford-Stuyvesant and went on to attend Midwood High School and 
Brooklyn College where she majored in Sociology.
  While studying at Brooklyn College she met and later married Charlie 
Harvell. From their illustrious union three beautiful children were 
produced. Today, she is a happy grandmother of five. Mary is also 
committed and deeply connected to her spiritual family, including her 
brother, the Bishop Harry Brown of Brunswick, Georgia. She is a member 
of the New Jerusalem Holy Church of Brooklyn, New York, where the 
Pastor Lester Charles Smith presides. Mary is very active in her church 
and has served in various capacities including the Book Ministry, as a 
Bible Study teacher, and as a member of the Hospitality Committee. 
Likewise, she also volunteers at the Annual Church Health Fair, which 
serves the East New York community and assists with the Church Food 
Pantry, which feeds the community spiritually and physically.
  Mary strongly believes that our seniors are the pillars of the 
community and visits several senior citizen homes and also assists with 
the transportation of seniors at her church. Additionally, this busy 
lady volunteers for Assemblyman Darryl Towns. What is so amazing is 
that Mary makes the time to volunteer all while being employed at 
Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. At Interfaith, she 
serves as the Secretary in the Purchasing Department where she 
processes orders from sales representatives, prepares the Purchasing 
Department payroll, and oversees the ordering of office supplies for 
the entire medical center. Mary has worked at Interfaith for 34 years, 
which affords her the opportunity to fulfill her personal mission: ``If 
I can help somebody, then my living will not be in vain.''
  Mr. Speaker, Mary Harvell has helped many people and we duly note 
that hers is a life well lived and that we appreciate all that she does 
for our community. She has consistently demonstrated a level of 
commitment to our community that makes her most worthy of our 
recognition today.

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