Fiscal Note
No appropriation required.
Title
In memory of Velma Hamilton.
Body
WHEREAS, Madisonian Velma Fern Bell Hamilton passed away on July 9, 2009, and;
WHEREAS, Velma Hamilton was a long-time advocate for education in our community having been hired as the first African-American teacher at Madison Vocational School (now Madison Area Technical College) and in 1992 the Madison School District named a school in her honor the "Velma Hamilton Middle School", and;
WHEREAS, Velma Hamilton established and served as the first president of the Madison NAACP in 1943, and;
WHEREAS, Velma Hamilton was married to Harry Hamilton in 1934, she was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother andin 1974 she was named "Mother of the Year" but many in the community will remember her fondly and with great love as the "Mother of the South Side", and;
WHEREAS, Velma Hamilton was active in a variety of ways for many years, serving on the Wisconsin Committee on Aging and the Governor's Commission on Human Rights, traveling the Midwest evaluating vocational and technical schools for the North Central Accrediting Association, serving as moderator at First Congregational Church, teaching at Green Lake summer camps, welcoming international students with her husband as part of the Friends of International Students and in many other community activities throughout her life,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Common Council expresses its sadness at Velma Hamilton's passing, extends condolences to her family and wishes to honor and recognize her extensive contributions to the City of Madison in so many ways.