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“TRIBUTE TO VALENTINE BURROUGHS, JR., SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DIRECTOR OF MINORITY AFFAIRS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E237-E238 on March 8, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO VALENTINE BURROUGHS, JR., SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION, DIRECTOR OF MINORITY AFFAIRS
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HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Valentine Burroughs of Camden, South Carolina, an outstanding public servant and friend who passed away suddenly last weekend. Valentine Burroughs was that rarest of individuals who always placed the interests of others before his own. He felt strong duty to help maintain his community, focusing his talent and energy on helping people.
Val served tirelessly in the Executive Office of South Carolina's Department of Transportation and other divisions of improve overall opportunities to ethnic minorities, women and individuals with disabilities.
Val exhibited strong leadership and he ably represented the interests of fellow coworkers and local residents. He worked with the Human Resources Office to develop a recruitment strategy to identify and attract minorities and women in underutilized professions, with an emphasis on the engineering career field. He proved his dedication and excellence to the community by providing outstanding support to research efforts of the Legislative Black Caucus, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and rural communities. Val has undertook special projects including research special transportation initiatives for Native Americans.
He administered the implementation of the HBCU Partnership Program with South Carolina State University and Benedict College, the Summer Transportation Initiative Program, the Cooperative Education/Intern Program, the Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program and the Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program.
He was named the agency's Americans With Disabilities (ADA) Coordinator, and the Urban Youth Corps Program Statewide Coordinator for which he leaves an indelible legacy. The Youth Corps Program which began in 1994 now employs over 690 youth throughout the state of South Carolina.
When Val was named as the transportation department's Director of Minority Affairs in 1990, he stated, ``I view this is one of the most challenging positions in the agency because of the uniqueness of the highway construction industry and because of the economic importance of minority firms participating''. But he had faced tough challenges before. Fresh out of school and armed with a degree in Sociology from St. Augustine College in Raleigh, N.C. he moved to Washington, D.C.'s troubled inner-city. He began working as a counselor for the Neighborhood Youth Corps, helping the disadvantaged find jobs and offering them alternatives to crime. His community service included Directors of the Triangle Ministry Community Program, the Mission/
Congress Heights Youth Service Center and the Mission of Community Concern, Inc.
In 1976, Val moved back to South Carolina to work in the office of Governor James B. Edwards under I. DeQuincey Newman, who was director of the Division of Rural Development, and later became the first Black South Carolina senators since post-reconstruction. There he assisted rural communities through workshops, training programs and resource development. Val remained in Rural Development through the first term of Governor Richard Riley before assuming the position of project information coordinator for the South Carolina State Family Development Authority, an agency that sets up tax-deferred bond programs to assist farmers in building agricultural facilities.
In 1987, Val came to the Office of Planning and Program Development in the Division of Motor Vehicles, previously the South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation where he served continuously until his untimely death last Saturday.
To Valentine Burroughs, community and public service wasn't an option. It was a responsibility and an honor. Whenever neighbors or coworkers called upon him, Burroughs was always there. There aren't enough Valentine Burroughs in our communities and his absence will be greatly missed.
I extend my deepest condolences to Val's wife, Audrey and their two children. To them Val was a loving husband and father, to me he was a friend.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in a tribute to Valentine Burroughs for his selfless dedication to his community and country.
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