Thank you Congressman Butterfield!

 


The Honorable George Kenneth Butterfield Jr. became Congressman Butterfield on July 20, 2004. I was fourteen years old and president of my eighth-grade class. The average price of gas was $2.10 a gallon. President George W. Bush was president, and the United States of America was at war with Iraq. 

The world was a different place than it was today, but challenges and opportunities are constant. Congressman Butterfield navigated through many obstacles and opened the doors to many opportunities for the First Congressional District of North Carolina. He realized that some of the decisions he made had the potential to inspire and change lives. 

I met the Congressman in the fall of 2013 while running for Elizabeth City City Council. He took my campaign team and me out for dinner and inspired us to continue the fight. He was proud of me because I was a small manifestation of what he had spent his entire life fighting for, voting rights. See, I had to fight to get on the ballot to run for City Council; I won that fight and subsequently the seat. 

Years later, I had the opportunity to visit the Congressman at his D.C. office. I was no longer on the city council. However, he welcomed me with open arms and made time to catch up. Dr. Maya Angelou once said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." At that moment, I felt empowered to serve again but in a different capacity. 

Words cannot express the impact of Congressman Butterfields time in office. Despite the current challenges, the Congressman has stood the test of time. He has represented the district to the best of his ability. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to thank Congressman G.K. Butterfield for his many years of distinguished service and wish him a happy retirement. 

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