[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19552]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN RECOGNITION OF MR. LUTHER CONYERS

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 3, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
commend an outstanding public servant and champion of education, Mr. 
Luther Conyers. Mr. Conyers will be retiring this month after serving 
37 years on the Bainbridge City Council in Bainbridge, Georgia. He was 
first elected to the Bainbridge City Council in 1977 but his passion as 
an educator began long before then.
  Mr. Conyers earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture in 
1948 from Georgia State Industrial College, now Savannah State 
University, where he met his wife, Gwendolyn. Their daughters, Audrey 
and Luthenya, and their granddaughter, Leslie also attended Savannah 
State University so it is no wonder that the Conyers family was chosen 
as ``SSU Family of the Year'' in 2009. Mr. and Mrs. Conyers, co-
sponsors of the Conyers-Kirbo Endowed Scholarship Fund for the school, 
were inducted into the 2015 Hall of Fame at Savannah State University.
  Mr. Conyers first taught in the Institutional On-Farm Training 
Program designed for World War II veterans before joining the U.S. 
Army. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina and 
advanced training at Fort Bliss, Texas, before deploying to Korea, 
where he served 16 months and 27 days. He earned three Bronze Stars as 
a member of the transportation crew and he taught education classes 
while deployed.
  After returning home to Bainbridge in 1942, he served as a substitute 
teacher and enrolled at Fort Valley State College, now University. He 
was employed at Randolph County High School for six months, and 
beginning in 1954, he taught at Bainbridge Elementary School. He earned 
a Master's in Education from Florida A&M University in 1961. In 1965, 
he transferred to Hutto High School in Bainbridge to teach social 
studies before transferring to Hutto Junior High School in 1970, where 
he taught eighth and ninth grade.
  Throughout his tenure of service on the Bainbridge City Council, Mr. 
Conyers has been a champion of education but most importantly, he has 
given his all to improving the community he serves. In recognition of 
his efforts, in 2008, Mr. Conyers was inducted into the Georgia 
Municipal Government Hall of Fame, which ``recognizes current and 
former city officials who have made extraordinary contributions to 
their communities and actively participated in the Association.'' In 
2012, he was one of four city officials to receive the prestigious 
Certificate of Distinction from the Georgia Municipal Training 
Institute at the Georgia Municipal Association's (GMA) Annual Mayors' 
Day Conference. He has actively served on GMA committees that oversee 
employee retirement benefits and training courses for leaders of cities 
across Georgia.
  Mr. Conyers is heavily involved in the community and is a member of 
the Rotary Club, American Legion Post No. 502, National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People, and Bainbridge-Decatur County 
Chamber of Commerce. He is also the City Council's liaison to the 
city's Planning Commission and teaches about planning and zoning issues 
during Bainbridge's annual Student Government Days.
  Dr. Benjamin E. Mays often said: ``You make your living by what you 
get, you make your life by what you give.'' Throughout his life, Mr. 
Conyers has done so much for so many for so long. He is an example of 
public service at its finest and his advocacy on behalf of students of 
all ages has been invaluable throughout the state of Georgia. His 
service to his country and his community are but a small testimony to 
the high caliber of character that he embodies.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives 
to join me and my wife Vivian, and the more than 730,000 people of 
Georgia's Second Congressional District, in recognizing and commending 
Mr. Luther Conyers for his leadership in education and service to his 
community.

                          ____________________