Date: 2010-01-20
Speaker: CORRINE BROWN (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. on behalf of the constituents of the Third Congressional District of Florida and myself. I rise today to remember and honor the life of someone very dear to me. my congressional office. and so many people here in the Washington. D.C. area. as well as many. many people of the Third Congressional District of Florida: my scheduler. office manager. and executive assistant. Mrs. Darla SmallwoodWran. who passed away from breast cancer this morning. When I came to Washington and hired the scheduler of my predecessor. Congressman Charlie Bennett. I thought at the time she was overpaid. Quickly. however. I began to realize that there was no dollar amount that could be placed on the value of Darla. A scheduler. office manager. I discovered very quickly is the foundation of an effective congressional office. And Darla. with her strong. persistent personality. her organizational skills. dotting every "i" and crossing every "t." she never missed a beat. For 17 years. Darla was the face of my Washington office. I want to say to her family. her father who is a police officer here. her mother and sisters and her loving husband. we love her. we cant replace her. and we will deeply. deeply miss her. As many times as I would have to change my flights. as often as the vote schedule changed. as frequently as meetings had to be coordinated. updated. rearranged. Darla was ever dependable. and always coolheaded. making everyone feel that the situation was always under control. even as my other staffers nervously buzzed in and out of the room. Everyone who came in knew her. and certainly knew not to lean on her desk. touch the plants on her desk or worse than anything. interrupt her if she was on a call. I think everyone would agree that Darla was loved. and respected. by everyone who came into contact with her. Her unmistakable smile. witty sense of humor and love of life blew fresh air and positive energy into the office. My heart and prayers go out to Darla and to her family. in particular her mother and father. her sisters. and her loving husband Channing. You are irreplaceable Darla. and you will be deeply missed. In addition. I want to say that I am in support of the Haitian resolution before the House. I have always said to whom God has given much. much is expected. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of the island of Haiti and to the Haitian community who live here in the United States and around the world. The loss of life and destruction of property in Haiti is unthinkable. I want to thank the ministers. the business community. the organizations that have organized in our community. the Third Congressional District. We have seven tractor- trailers that will be going to Haiti filled with water. baby formula. dry cereal. blankets. tents. and sleeping bags. I want to say that the Royal Caribbean cruise line is carrying those goods over free of cost. I am very encouraged how the community is coming together to help the people of Haiti. and I can truly say. if you are interested in being helpful. go to the Web site and see how you can also participate. In closing. I really do believe to whom God has given much. much is expected.