[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING WILSON H. PARRAN

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 9, 2010

  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Wilson H. Parran, 
a member of the Calvert County Board of Commissioners since 2002 and 
president of that commission from 2006-2010. It is my distinct honor to 
share his story of commitment, dedication and public service to Calvert 
County, to our great State of Maryland and to our Nation.
  Commissioner Parran was born and raised in Calvert County, where he 
still resides today with his wife Deborah. The youngest of ten 
children, he grew up on a tobacco farm where his parents were 
sharecroppers. Wilson grew up under segregation. At the age of six, he 
had to walk a mile to catch the school bus every day, even though some 
buses stopped on his street. Wilson learned at an early age, as he 
watched his mother go before the County Board of Education to get a her 
son a bus ride to school, that you must be an advocate and in so doing 
you can see government in action. Twenty-five years later, Wilson was 
serving on that same Calvert County Board of Education, motivated by 
his experiences to give back to his community and support education for 
the betterment of all students.
  Following his parents' model of hard work and high expectations to 
reach for your dreams, Wilson worked his way from entry-level 
technology positions to a top telecommunications executive. In 1969 he 
went on leave to join the military, serving in the Air Force for 4 
years during the Vietnam War era. Wilson had been out of high school 
for 12 years before he received his first degree. While serving on the 
school boards he was going to school himself, and became the first 
member of his family to graduate from college. An advocate of lifelong 
learning, Wilson served on the Calvert County Board of Education for 6 
years and the Maryland Board of Education for 5 years. Commissioner 
Parran is past president of the Maryland Association of Counties, MACo, 
and represented Calvert County on the MACo Legislative Committee. He 
has served on numerous civic organizations including being on the 
Calvert Memorial Hospital Foundation Board and president of the 
Maryland Association of Board of Education, MABE. He is a member of the 
NAACP and was the recipient of the MABE 2007 Charles W. Willis Award 
for outstanding School Board Leadership.
  Mr. Parran was elected to the Calvert County Board of County 
Commissioners in 2002, and achieved re-election in 2006. Following his 
re-election, board members crossed party lines to elect him as 
president, a position in which he has demonstrated courage, judgment, 
and integrity.
  Calvert County has been well served by Commissioner Parran's two 
decades of dedicated public service. He has been an ardent advocate for 
maintaining Calvert County's quality of life, assuring a balance 
between its rich agricultural heritage and its expanded economic base. 
We are indebted to his service and leadership and know that his 
parent's would be so proud to see that the foundation they set of 
strong family values and commitment to community have reaped many 
fruits.
  Madam Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honoring Commissioner 
Wilson H. Parran for his years of public service, dedicated work and 
commitment to excellence on behalf of the people of Calvert County.

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