[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IN RECOGNITION OF THE RETIREMENT OF CARROLL L. ``LEW'' WATSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 13, 2012

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the House's attention 
today to recognize Lew Watson who is retiring as Mayor of the City of 
Lincoln, Alabama, on the 40th anniversary of the day he first took the 
oath of office.
  Carroll L. ``Lew'' Watson was born in Norfolk, Virginia, to Carroll 
and Ruth Watson on May 9, 1943. He graduated from Lincoln High School 
in 1961 and graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor's 
of Art degree in 1965.
  After graduation from college, he joined the United States Army where 
he served until September of 1969 when he retired at the rank of 
Captain. He later attended Birmingham School of Law and received his 
Juris Doctor degree on May 23, 1982.
  Watson was first elected mayor in 1972 at the age of 29 when 
Lincoln's population was a little over 1,100. Over the years, Lew was 
able to help build local infrastructure and help recruit industries 
like Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC which helped the city grow and 
prosper to what it is today. During his time in office the city's 
population grew by over 450 percent.
  Watson's children include Carroll Lewis Watson and his wife Alyson, 
Samantha Bluhm and her husband Patrick, David G. Watson and his wife 
Azumi, and Jessica Laffosse and her husband Michael.
  Mr. Speaker, we join his friends and family in this surprise 
celebration in his honor. We will miss Lew's leadership in Lincoln, and 
wish him the very best.

                          ____________________