[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12859]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO JAMES ``BUDDY'' KEATON

  (Mr. TOWNS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy this evening because a very 
dear friend of mine passed away, Buddy Keaton.
  Buddy Keaton has been a real fixture in the Brooklyn community for so 
many years. Many, many basketball players are in the NBA because of 
Buddy Keaton. Buddy Keaton was a person that spent a lot of time with 
young people, helping them to understand how important it is to go 
straight in life, and also how important it was to really work on your 
skills. But at the same time, he indicated that they needed to be 
involved in making certain that their academics were in order.
  Buddy Keaton, as a result of his involvement, made it possible for 
many basketball officials to be able to officiate games. Some have gone 
on to the NBA and to other places as a result of Buddy Keaton and his 
involvement.
  Buddy Keaton was truly a coalition builder. He was a person that just 
had a natural flair for saying the right thing at the right time. He 
knew how to do that.
  So I say to the Brooklyn community and to the family of Buddy Keaton, 
and, of course, to my good friend Hank Carter and to all those who knew 
him in terms of his work and how hard he has worked on behalf of 
people, we say to his family, you have our deepest sympathy. If there 
is anything that we can do, please do not hesitate to reach out.
  What a tremendous loss for the Brooklyn community.

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