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2012 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 28
Commending Joyce Gilliam Brown.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, January 19, 2012
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 27, 2012
 

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown, an international folklorist and motivational speaker from Norfolk, was honored for her community and volunteer service as the General Mills and Feeding Dreams 2010 Grand Champion Runner Up; and

WHEREAS, the General Mills and Feeding Dreams 2010 Community Champions program honored individuals from 10 cities—Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Columbia, Jackson, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Norfolk, Memphis, and Miami—for their efforts to help those in the community; and

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown, the 2010 Norfolk Community Champion, was selected from the 10 Community Champions as the 2010 Grand Champion Runner Up in an online poll; and

WHEREAS, the daughter of Lovles and Geneva Gilliam, Joyce Gilliam Brown grew up in Norfolk and learned from her parents at an early age to read and memorize poems that told stories, winning a trophy for her school in a citywide declamation contest at the age of eight; and

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Virginia State College and a master’s degree from Columbia University before embarking on a successful career in education in the school systems of Lynchburg and Norfolk, Virginia, and White Plains, New York; and

WHEREAS, in the late 1980s, Joyce Gilliam Brown returned to school to study storytelling at Bank Street College of Education and then toured the East Coast “tellin”; and

WHEREAS, a gifted storyteller, Joyce Gilliam Brown travels to schools, hospitals, churches, senior day care centers, and prisons to share inspiring messages of hope, renewal, and encouragement to those of all ages and walks of life; and

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown weaves together words to create memorable images and accounts that convey the wide array of human emotions and conditions to listeners, who are profoundly touched by her compassion, spiritual presence, and wisdom; and

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown received local accolades at the Murray Center on September 27, 2010, and was honored, along with the other Community Champions, at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on December 11, 2010; and

WHEREAS, Joyce Gilliam Brown selected First Baptist Church’s Ready Academy Christian School as the recipient of the $5,000 grant she was awarded as the 2010 Grand Champion Runner Up in order to help fulfill the school’s mission of Reaching Educationally Aspiring Dynamic Youth; and

WHEREAS, a remarkably creative woman, Joyce Gilliam Brown has used her unique talent to reach out to the community, helping individuals draw inspiration and insight from dynamic stories to forge a new vision for themselves; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Joyce Gilliam Brown on her selection as the General Mills and Feeding Dreams 2010 Grand Champion Runner Up; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Joyce Gilliam Brown as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration for her many contributions to the community.