Senate Bill sb2794

    Florida Senate - 2006        (NP)                      SR 2794

    By Senator Lawson





    6-1929A-06

  1                        Senate Resolution

  2         A resolution honoring Antoinette McTurner

  3         Humphries, former First Lady of Florida

  4         Agricultural and Mechanical University.

  5  

  6         WHEREAS, Antoinette McTurner Humphries was born on

  7  November 9, 1941, to Louis and Ida McTurner of Pittsburgh,

  8  Pennsylvania, and graduated from Tennessee State University in

  9  Nashville, Tennessee, and

10         WHEREAS, Antoinette was a devoted wife in marriage to

11  Dr. Frederick S. Humphries and from this union three children

12  were born:  Frederick S. Jr.; Robin Tanya; and Laurence A.

13  Humphries, and

14         WHEREAS, Antoinette was a proud and active member of

15  Links, Incorporated; Girlfriends, Incorporated; and Delta

16  Sigma Theta Sorority; and was a Founding Member of the Reston,

17  Virginia Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and

18         WHEREAS, from 1974 to 1985, Antoinette was First Lady

19  of Tennessee State University, where her husband, Dr.

20  Frederick Humphries, served as its President, and

21         WHEREAS, in 1985, Dr. Frederick Humphries became

22  President of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in

23  Tallahassee, Florida, where Antoinette moved and resumed her

24  duties as First Lady until 2001, and

25         WHEREAS, Antoinette was a patron and supporter of the

26  arts, the humanities, and the theatre at Florida A&M

27  University where she hosted numerous receptions for honored

28  guests at the President's home and generated support for

29  corporate America's Industry Cluster Members Program by

30  preparing a most sumptuous opening reception every year where

31  participants indulged in meaningful social gatherings and

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    Florida Senate - 2006        (NP)                      SR 2794
    6-1929A-06




 1  discussions in the President's home and in the nationally

 2  recognized hospitality of the First Lady, and

 3         WHEREAS, Antoinette also unselfishly opened the

 4  President's home to college students, many who later became

 5  part of the Humphries extended family, where she counseled

 6  them on the importance of completing their education, staying

 7  the course, and making a positive contribution to society, and

 8         WHEREAS, Antoinette Humphries was an avid fan of

 9  Florida A&M University's football program and hosted an annual

10  dinner for the players and coaches, and

11         WHEREAS, Antoinette also recognized the university

12  faculty, staff, and students who did not often receive

13  recognition for their good works by arranging the annual "Toni

14  Awards" under the tutelage of the late Colonel Bernard

15  Hendricks, (Ret.), where she headed a committee that selected

16  and provided scholarships to students in theatre and provided

17  awards and recognition to faculty and staff who gave their

18  time and efforts untiringly to others, and

19         WHEREAS, Antoinette also involved the university

20  faculty and staff in the annual "FAMU Christmas Toy Drive" for

21  needy families in Gretna, Apalachicola, and Tallahassee where

22  she personally delivered toys to families in these areas, and

23         WHEREAS, Mrs. Humphries was an avid supporter of

24  Rickards High School in Tallahassee, Florida, where she

25  honored students in the arts and opened the President's home

26  for fundraisers to support the needs and efforts of the high

27  school, and

28         WHEREAS, Florida A&M University's First Lady Antoinette

29  Humphries impressively produced warm, yet elegant, events for

30  international visitors, advisory groups, delegations from

31  African and European countries, various federal and state

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    Florida Senate - 2006        (NP)                      SR 2794
    6-1929A-06




 1  agencies, and the White House for more than 16 years and

 2  continuously promoted the university in achieving its

 3  reputation as one of the most highly regarded institutions of

 4  higher education by, most notably, hosting Mr. Jean-Paul

 5  Goude, the choreographer of the "Bastille Day Parade" of

 6  Paris, France, who later selected FAMU's Marching 100 as the

 7  representative from the United States during France's

 8  Bicentennial Celebration in 1989, and

 9         WHEREAS, on Wednesday, March 15, 2006, Antoinette

10  Humphries passed away in Orlando, Florida, surrounded by her

11  family, and will be laid to rest on Thursday, March 23, 2006,

12  in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and

13         WHEREAS, Mrs. Antoinette Humphries will be forever

14  remembered as Florida A&M University's First Lady with the

15  warm smile, pleasing personality, and generous heart, NOW,

16  THEREFORE,

17  

18  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:

19  

20         That the Senate honors Antoinette McTurner Humphries, a

21  beloved wife and mother who, through her work as the First

22  Lady of Florida A&M University, dedicated her service to the

23  faculty, staff, and students at Florida A&M University and the

24  surrounding Tallahassee community.

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