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House Bill 9159




    Florida House of Representatives - 1997                HR 9159

        By Representative Bush






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution honoring Helen L. Miller for two

  3         decades of political and community service to

  4         the citizens of Dade County and the City of

  5         Opa-locka.

  6

  7         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller was born in Pottstown,

  8  Pennsylvania, on April 23, 1925, and

  9         WHEREAS, in the late 1970's, Helen L. Miller began a

10  twenty-year career of political service to the citizens of

11  Dade County and the City of Opa-locka, which included serving

12  as both mayor and city commissioner, and

13         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller was the first African-American

14  female mayor in Florida, and

15         WHEREAS, in 1982 Helen L. Miller became the first

16  African-American woman to serve on the board of directors for

17  the Dade League of Cities, and

18         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller was the first African-American

19  woman to serve as president of the Dade League of Cities,

20  serving from 1994 to 1995, and

21         WHEREAS, her community service contributions, too

22  numerous to list, include serving as a board member for the

23  Ground Transportation Regulatory Advisory Committee, the

24  Alternative Board of Dade County, the Women's Park Founders

25  Committee, the African American Center, the Dade Employment

26  and Economic Development Committee, the National League of

27  Cities' Urban Administration Board, the North Dade Red Cross,

28  and the Dade County Transportation Board, and

29         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller's many awards and honors

30  include the President's Volunteer Action Award from the

31  National Conference of Black Mayors, the Dr. Martin Luther

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1997                HR 9159

    544-140A-97






  1  King, Jr., Drum Major for Justice Award, the Living Legacy

  2  Certificate from the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged,

  3  and the Outstanding Citizen Award from B'Nai B'rith, and

  4         WHEREAS, one of Helen L. Miller's greatest and most

  5  widely recognized accomplishments was a successful eight-year

  6  campaign to persuade the Tri-Rail Authority commuter service

  7  to add a station in the City of Opa-locka, thereby maintaining

  8  a critical regional transportation corridor linking Opa-locka

  9  to Palm Beach and Broward Counties, and

10         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller was honored for her efforts

11  when the commuter service designated its Opa-locka station as

12  the "Helen Miller Tri-Rail Station," and

13         WHEREAS, Helen L. Miller died on October 2, 1996,

14  leaving behind a legacy of greatness in public and community

15  service, and

16         WHEREAS, it is fitting and appropriate that the House

17  of Representatives recognize the many contributions of Helen

18  L. Miller to the citizens of the State of Florida, NOW,

19  THEREFORE,

20

21  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

22  Florida:

23

24         That the House of Representatives of the State of

25  Florida hereby honors Helen L. Miller for twenty years of

26  exemplary "public" and community service, for her acknowledged

27  position in the forefront of political involvement among

28  African-American women in Florida, and for her unselfish

29  devotion to the betterment of the lives of citizens in

30  Opa-locka and Dade County.

31

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