[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22906]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO PASTOR CLEO O. ALBURY, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2009

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the late 
Pastor Cleo O. Albury Jr., a beloved community leader, public servant 
and religious leader in my district. Pastor Albury was the pastor at 
Bible Missionary Baptist Church of Miami, Florida.
  Pastor Albury, a Miami, Florida native, was an honor graduate of 
Booker T. Washington High School, attended Florida Agricultural & 
Mechanical University and graduated from the Southern Baptist Seminary 
Extension. Moreover, Pastor Albury was one of the first African-
American Floridians to solo an aircraft in the United States Air Force.
  Having dedicated his life to the church community, Pastor Albury 
began his pastoral career as pastor of the Mount Sinai Baptist Church 
from 1969 to 1973, and followed as pastor and charter member of the 
Bible Baptist Church until 1999.
  As pastor of Bible Missionary Baptist Church, Pastor Albury organized 
a $2 million dollar facility development program for the church and the 
community; instituted a food bank to combat hunger in Miami-Dade 
County; and created a contingency fund for the unemployed and needy in 
Miami-Dade County through the church. Pastor Albury's other community 
and religious involvement included: former member of Evangelism Task 
Force for Southern Baptist Convention, former board member of Direct 
Action and Research Training Center, D.A.R.T., former board member of 
People United to Lead the Struggle of Equality, P.U.L.S.E., and he led 
the 1983 missionary teaching and ministry program for the churches in 
Ghana, West Africa.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and all the members of this esteemed 
legislative body to join me in recognizing the extraordinary life and 
accomplishments of Pastor Cleo O. Albury Jr. Pastor Albury's life was a 
triumph, and he was blessed with a loving family who took pleasure in 
every aspect of his life and his interests. I commend him for his 
dedication to both Bible Missionary Baptist Church and the Baptist 
community as a whole. He will be missed by all who knew him, and I 
appreciate this opportunity to pay tribute to him before the United 
States House of Representatives.

                          ____________________