<p> 1 South Carolina General Assembly 2 119th Session, 2011-2012 3 4 H. 5023 5 6 STATUS INFORMATION 7 8 Concurrent Resolution 9 Sponsors: Reps. Govan, Ott, CobbHunter, Hosey, Sellers, Clyburn, Agnew, Alexander, Allen, Allison, 10 Anderson, Anthony, Atwater, Bales, Ballentine, Bannister, Barfield, Battle, Bedingfield, Bikas, Bingham, 11 Bowen, Bowers, Brady, Branham, Brannon, Brantley, G.A. Brown, H.B. Brown, R.L. Brown, Butler 12 Garrick, Chumley, Clemmons, Cole, Corbin, Crawford, Crosby, Daning, Delleney, Dillard, Edge, 13 Erickson, Forrester, Frye, Funderburk, Gambrell, Gilliard, Hamilton, Hardwick, Harrell, Harrison, Hart, 14 Hayes, Hearn, Henderson, Herbkersman, Hiott, Hixon, Hodges, Horne, Howard, Huggins, Jefferson, 15 Johnson, King, Knight, Limehouse, Loftis, Long, Lowe, Lucas, Mack, McCoy, McEachern, McLeod, 16 Merrill, D.C. Moss, V.S. Moss, Munnerlyn, Murphy, Nanney, J.H. Neal, J.M. Neal, Neilson, Norman, 17 Owens, Parker, Parks, Patrick, Pinson, Pitts, Pope, Putnam, Quinn, Rutherford, Ryan, Sabb, Sandifer, 18 Simrill, Skelton, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, J.E. Smith, J.R. Smith, Sottile, Southard, Spires, Stavrinakis, 19 Stringer, Tallon, Taylor, Thayer, Toole, Tribble, Vick, Viers, Weeks, Whipper, White, Whitmire, 20 Williams, Willis and Young 21 Document Path: l:\council\bills\gm\24987dg12.docx 22 23 Introduced in the House on March 15, 2012 24 Introduced in the Senate on March 15, 2012 25 Adopted by the General Assembly on March 15, 2012 26 27 Summary: Bessie Bowman Abraham 28 29 30 HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 31 32 Date Body Action Description with journal page number 33 3/15/2012 House Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate ( House Journalpage 10) 34 3/15/2012 Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence ( Senate Journalpage 8) 35 36 37 VERSIONS OF THIS BILL 38 39 3/15/2012 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 10 11 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR MRS. BESSIE BOWMAN 12 ABRAHAM FOR HER YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE IN 13 THE FIELD OF SOCIAL WORK, AND TO CONGRATULATE 14 HER FOR BEING HONORED BY THE GIRL SCOUTS OF THE 15 USA AS A WOMAN OF DISTINCTION. 16 17 Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly 18 are pleased to learn that Bessie Bowman Abraham will be honored 19 by the Girls Scouts of the USA at their one hundredth birthday 20 celebration in Florence on April 29, 2012; and 21 22 Whereas, a native of Rowesville, she earned a bachelor’s in 23 sociology from South Carolina State University, and then earned a 24 master’s in social work from the University of Pittsburgh where 25 she was honored with the 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award for 26 outstanding contributions in social work practice; and 27 28 Whereas, she served as director of children’s services for both 29 Pittsburgh Child Guidance Center and Hope Mental Health Center 30 in Detroit, Michigan, before returning to South Carolina; and 31 32 Whereas, for thirtythree years, Mrs. Abraham has served the South 33 Carolina Department of Mental Health at the Orangeburg Area 34 Mental Health Center which services a quarter of a million 35 residents in a threecounty area; and 36 37 Whereas, in 1978, she began as director of children’s services, 38 later was named clinical director, and became the assistant director 39 of the center in 1992 and executive director in 2002; and 40 41 Whereas, committed to the concept of recovery and community 42 functioning for mentallyill clients, Mrs. Abraham has guided the</p><p>[5023] 2 1 Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center during difficult budget 2 cuts as it consistently maintained the highest level of accreditation 3 every three years from the Commission on Accreditation of 4 Rehabilitation Facilities, the outside agency that surveys 5 mentalhealth patient facilities in South Carolina; and 6 7 Whereas, her community commitment is evident in her service in 8 the Mt. Olive Corporation and as president of the AbrahamMoss 9 Board and vice president of Jamison Village Board, which secured 10 $1.2 million in funds for housing of the community’s elderly; and 11 12 Whereas, in May 2006, she completed a bachelor’s from Southern 13 Methodist College with a double major in Bible and in leadership 14 and ethics, where she was awarded the Louise R. Hassenplug 15 Award and Most Helpful and Spirit Award; and 16 17 Whereas, she started Girl Scout troops in her church and served as 18 a Girl Scout leader for six years, and in 1995, she was named a 19 Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Eastern South 20 Carolina Chapter; and 21 22 Whereas, as a devoted member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church, 23 she serves as the Sunday school superintendent, as a member of 24 the Mass Choir, and in various other capacities; and 25 26 Whereas, she reared two fine children, Sinclair Reginald Abraham, 27 Jr., and Stephanie AbrahamRobinson, who blessed her with an 28 adoring grandson, Bryson Sinclair AbrahamRobinson; and 29 30 Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly 31 are grateful for the years of dedication and service that Bessie 32 Bowman Abraham has given to the field of mental health and to 33 those who are most vulnerable and, along with the Girl Scouts, 34 commend her outstanding service to the young people of her 35 community. Now, therefore, 36 37 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate 38 concurring: 39 40 That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this 41 resolution, recognize and honor Mrs. Bessie Bowman Abraham for 42 her years of faithful service in the field of social work, and</p><p>[5023] 3 1 congratulate her for being honored by the Girl Scouts of the USA 2 as a Woman of Distinction. 3 4 Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to 5 Mrs. Bessie Bowman Abraham. 6 XX 7</p><p>[5023] 4</p>