[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5697-5698]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             A TRIBUTE TO PENNY LYNDELLA WILLOUGHBY-PARKER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 5, 2006

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Penny Lyndella 
Willoughby-Parker. I hope my colleagues will join me in recognizing her 
accomplishments.
  Penny was born in Farmville, North Carolina. However, since age 9 
Penny has resided in New York City. Since childhood, Penny has been a 
person that has strived to live by God's golden rule of ``Do Unto 
Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You.'' Penny's genuine love and 
concern for people as a whole, but especially those that were less 
fortunate than her inspired Penny to work with people living with 
mental illness.
  Penny worked at Manhattan Psychiatric Center for 13 years, 
specializing in Psychiatric Rehabilitation. In this capacity, Penny 
helped to prepare people to successfully return to their family, 
friends and society to live productive lives.
  Oftentimes while reading her patients' charts, Penny would learn that 
their problems began when they were children. As Penny sat at her desk 
reading the charts she would often become filled with sadness and say, 
``Oh God! I wish I had met Jane or John when they were children. 
Perhaps I could have helped them with their various problems and 
prevented them from ending up in a mental institution.''
  God heard Penny's sighs! God saw Penny's tears! And He has Anointed 
and Appointed her to teach Wisdom to his children. Penny's Mission 
Statement from God is ``to train up a

[[Page 5698]]

child according to Proverbs 22:6 and to help all children to fully 
develop Spiritually, Academically, Socially and Culturally which is 
exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond what is called ``Average''.
  Penny is the proud mother of two sons, Chinyelu and Cory, but God has 
given her as He did Abraham and Sarah, innumerable sons and daughters 
that are spread throughout the world. You will never hear Penny say she 
did anything special or take credit for the overwhelming successful 
outcomes of her students' achievements whom she affectionately refers 
to as her ``Power Angels''. But, you will hear Penny say, ``To God Be 
the Glory!!!''
  Mr. Speaker, Penny Lyndella Willoughby-Parker's selfless service has 
continuously demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication that makes 
her worthy of our recognition today.

                          ____________________