[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ROBERT HODGSON

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 20, 2011

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Robert Morton 
Hodgson, a respected long-time South Alabama business and community 
leader who recently passed away at the age of 83.
  Robert Hodgson was a 1945 graduate of Baldwin County High School and 
a 1950 graduate of the University of Alabama.
  A veteran of the Navy and the Air Force Reserve, Mr. Hodgson returned 
from his military service to Bay Minette, Alabama to help run the 
family business, Standard Oil.
  Mr. Hodgson soon took the helm of another family business, Standard 
Furniture Manufacturing Company, where he served as executive vice 
president and chairman of the board. He guided the company, which at 
one time had 1,500 employees, for a half century.
  In addition to his distinguished service as a successful businessman, 
Mr. Hodgson was an active booster of community service organizations, 
including chairman of the board and founder of Bayside Academy, 
chairman of the Alabama Sheriff's Youth Ranches, and chairman of the 
board of the Community Foundation of South Alabama, to name a few.
  In 1991, he was named Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in Bay 
Minette, and in 2008 he was commended by the Alabama Legislature for 
extraordinary professional achievement and community service for 
Baldwin County, Alabama.
  In 1997, Mr. Hodgson was honored by President Bill Clinton at a White 
House ceremony recognizing business executives from around the nation 
who were instrumental in developing hiring practices to transition 
welfare recipients to employment.
  On behalf of the people of South Alabama, I wish to extend 
condolences to his wife of 57 years, Doris; their daughter, Kimberly; 
their son, Philip; as well as their grandchildren, Ann-Brooks and 
Sidney, and their entire family. You are all in our thoughts and 
prayers.

                          ____________________