[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6002]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING WILLA LIVINGSTON CARSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL BILIRAKIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 25, 2006

  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of a true community leader, Willa Carson, who passed away on April 14, 
2006, at age 80.
  Willa was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, and moved to New York City 
after marrying Ernest Carson. While in New York, Willa earned her 
practical nursing license and worked for years in the health care 
industry. In 1972, Willa returned to Florida, retiring in Clearwater 
with her husband. However, Willa always needed to help others and was 
unfulfilled with retirement, so she undertook a second career teaching 
her passion for nursing to others.
  Willa is best known for founding the Greenwood Community Health 
Resources Center, which she established in 1995. In the beginning, 
Greenwood operated out of two apartments. Today, this tremendous 
facility provides free treatment for nearly 600 individuals monthly who 
have no insurance and little money to afford health care costs. This is 
especially impressive because the Center only is open three days a week 
and all the doctors and nurses volunteer their time and expertise. 
While I am very familiar with the generosity of our nation's health 
care professionals, I know that this Center would not have been so 
successful without Willa's tireless efforts to help the poorest in our 
society.
  Last month, the Greenwood Community Health Resources Center was 
appropriately renamed after Willa Carson. However, this was a tribute 
Willa did not want or welcome. Humbly, she wanted the Center to be 
about helping others, not personal glorification.
  Willa does not need the Health Resources Center to be renamed after 
her for her impact on this community to be realized. Her generosity 
will be reflected on the faces of the countless people that she has 
helped. I hope her family will take solace in knowing that, in heaven, 
Willa's loving arms will be able to reach much further than Clearwater, 
Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, our community truly is better off because of Mrs. 
Carson's contributions. Her leadership, life and legacy are truly an 
inspiration to everyone. I'm honored to have known her and to have 
called her a friend. May her memory be eternal!

                          ____________________