[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING THE HONORABLE R.L. LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2007

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is an honor for me to rise 
today to recognize Mr. R.L. Lewis for 23 years of dedicated public 
service. Mr. Lewis, a member of the Milton City Council, is a highly-
regarded figure whose contributions to the advancement of the city of 
Milton are immeasurable.
  A native of northwest Florida, R.L. is the son of R.V. and Louise 
Lewis. After graduating from T.R. Jackson High School in 1957, R.L. 
attended Pensacola Junior College and later went on to serve in the 
United States Army for 2 years. When R.L. returned to Milton, he began 
his career with a local division of Monsanto Company, a multinational 
agricultural biotechnology corporation, from which he retired in 1995.
  In addition to being the first African American to serve on the 
Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary in northwest Florida in 1972, R.L. was 
also the first to serve on the Milton City Council. He was first 
elected in 1984 and has been reelected in every subsequent election.
  As city councilman, R.L. currently serves as the chairman of the 
Public Works Committee and a member of both the Parks and Recreation 
Committee and the Insurance Committee. For the past 40 years, he has 
been employed as a funeral advisor with Lewis Funeral Horne. He also 
serves as chairman of the deacon board at Mt. Zion Primitive Baptist 
Church and chairman of Milton-Keyser Cemetery Committee.
  Through his leadership and dedication, R.L. has honorably and 
spiritually served the northwest Florida community. He is a longtime 
member of the NAACP and former member of numerous other church and 
civic organizations. These include: West Florida Planning Board, Islam 
Shrine Temple No. 182, Florida League of Cities Nominating Committee, 
and Review Board for Law Enforcement.
  Despite all of his professional success, R.L. would be the first to 
say he would not have accomplished so much without the support of his 
loving wife, Paulette Larkins Lewis.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to a 
man who has served as a role model to us all, a true servant to the 
Milton community. I am thankful for his exemplary service and 
leadership in northwest Florida and recognize him for 23 years of 
dedicated public service on the Milton City Council.

                          ____________________