[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE SERVICE OF MAYOR BRENDA LAWRENCE TO THE CITY OF SOUTHFIELD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY C. PETERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 11, 2014

  Mr. PETERS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
service of Brenda Lawrence, Mayor of the City of Southfield, who will 
be leaving office at the end of this year to represent Michigan's 14th 
Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.
  Mayor Brenda L. Lawrence is a long-time resident of the City of 
Southfield. A product of Michigan's public school system, Mayor 
Lawrence is an alumna of Pershing High School and received her BA in 
Public Administration from Central Michigan University.
  Ms. Lawrence was elected Mayor of the City of Southfield in November 
of 2001. She is the first African American and first woman Mayor of 
Southfield, a city with a population of over 78,000 residents, a budget 
of $143 million, and 833 employees. Mayor Lawrence is committed to 
diversity, fiscal responsibility, education, and keeping a clean and 
safe city.
  Mayor Lawrence has been a community advocate for many years, both as 
an elected official and a private citizen. She has served on the 
Southfield City Council, where she was elected president in 1999. As a 
Councilwoman, Ms. Lawrence gained experience in managing a multi-
million dollar budget and demonstrated fiscal responsibility. Ms. 
Lawrence has also served on the Southfield Public School Board of 
Education as President, Vice-President, and Secretary. Her love for 
community involvement has been evident through her previous service as 
a volunteer in various capacities on the Parent Youth Guidance 
Commission, Oakland County United Way Advisory Committee, and Oakland 
County AIDS Council.
  Since becoming Mayor, Ms. Lawrence has initiated the following 
community programs: The Mayor's Walk community health program; Mayor's 
Roundtable--a citizen driven forum where residents can discuss one-on-
one topics of concern; Southfield Reads!--a program designed to promote 
reading literacy in the City of Southfield; Annual Flower Day; City-
wide Blood Drive; and Today's Woman--a cable show featuring respected 
women in and around Southfield. As a result of her initiative to create 
a more environmentally friendly community, Mayor Lawrence joined over 
600 other Mayors in signing the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, 
and with Council support has created the Southfield Green Committee.
  Mayor Lawrence has received many honors for her leadership skills. 
She was recognized in October 2007 as one of Crain's ``2007 Most 
Influential Women.'' She is the recipient of the ``2004 Wand Award'' 
for breaking new frontiers for women and minorities, the Jewish War 
Veterans-State of Michigan ``Brotherhood Award,'' the Leadership 
Detroit ``Challenging the Process'' award, the ABWA Millennium Chapter 
``Woman of the Year Award,'' the Detroit Historical Society's 
``Enterprising Women'' award, Leadership Oakland's 2004 Distinguished 
Leadership & Future Leaders Award for Exemplary Leadership, and the 
``Black Women Achiever Award.'' Mayor Lawrence has also been named to 
the Women's Informal Network ``List of the Most Influential African 
American Women in Metropolitan Detroit'' and CORP Magazine's ``95 Most 
Influential Women in Michigan.''
  Mayor Lawrence is a member of the Oakland County Chapter of the 
NAACP, a member of the Michigan Association of Mayor's Advisory Board, 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors Advisory Board, the American Heart 
Association's ``Go Red For Women,'' the Michigan Suburbs Alliance 
Executive Board, Women Officials Network Board of Directors, Birmingham 
YMCA Advisory Board, the Pepsi Community Advisory Board, MBN TV, Radio 
Advisory Board and the Board of Governors of the Renaissance/Skyline 
Club.
  Mr. Speaker, as a former city councilman, I know first-hand how 
communities benefit from dedicated elected leaders. Brenda's years of 
dedicated service to the residents of Southfield is a testament to her 
character and I know that her experience will serve her well as a 
member of this legislative body. As I close, I can say with confidence 
that our community is a better place thanks to the ongoing, selfless 
service of people like Mayor and now Congresswoman-Elect Brenda 
Lawrence.

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