House Resolution 94

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE CAREER AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ALFRED LEE "FROG" WILSON, SR., ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT, AND EXPRESSING TO HIM THAT HE WILL BE VERY MUCH MISSED AT THE CAPITOL.

WHEREAS, our friend and colleague Alfred Lee "Frog" Wilson, Sr., was born on April 10, 1947, in Itta Bena, Mississippi, to Annie Mae Wilson and J.B. Leggett; and

WHEREAS, he moved to Jackson as a child and has lived here for the majority of his life, leaving his home state of Mississippi on occasion--to be with his father in California once in his youth, and then again for a longer time after his mother passed away; and

WHEREAS, when he returned to Jackson after his first stay in California, Alfred entered public service by working for several years at Central High School before returning to California; and

WHEREAS, while residing in California, Alfred started a successful career with Safeway Food Stores working as a forklift operator for the company; and

WHEREAS, during that time, he married Robi Jones, and although this first marriage ended, Alfred became the proud father of his son, Alfred Lee Wilson, Jr., and of his stepchildren, Reggie and Vickie; and

WHEREAS, upon his permanent return to Mississippi in the late 1970s, Alfred worked for Service America for approximately five years, before he returned to public service; and

WHEREAS, this legislative body was very fortunate in that when Alfred returned to public service in 1984, it was to work for the Mississippi House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure with the House of Representatives, Alfred has distinguished himself as a loyal and faithful friend and colleague of each member of the House and its staff, all of whom value and treasure his friendship; and

WHEREAS, his talent and abilities quickly made it clear that he was capable of serving as the Official House Messenger, entrusted with delivering sensitive and financial transaction documents to locations outside the Capitol, and he has served in that position for many years; and

WHEREAS, Alfred's cheerful attitude and great sense of humor, along with his readiness to assist and serve both Representatives and staffers, have made it our extreme pleasure to work with him all these years; and

WHEREAS, he is the beloved husband of Christine Jones, having joyfully shared his life with her for 30 happy and blessed years, and he is the proud and loving patriarch of a large and handsome family, including his son and daughter-in-law, Alfred and Monique Wilson; his stepchildren, Barbara Lynn, Christell, James, Layvette, Reggie and Vickie; and his grandchildren, Christopher, Jasmine, Jonathan, Kara, Mikell, Nikiya, Tiffany and Torez; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his outstanding career, Alfred has found time to celebrate life by enjoying various hobbies, including fishing, cooking, playing bingo and spending good times with his family and many friends; and

WHEREAS, not only has Alfred experienced great success in playing bingo over the years, but he is known by all to be a very accomplished fisherman, as demonstrated by his record-breaking catch of February 15, 2006, where he caught a largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds 3 ounces on the Spillway at the Ross Barnett Reservoir; and

WHEREAS, our friend Alfred, known to us with great affection and love as "Frog," will be retiring for health reasons earlier than we had hoped, and we want him to know that his generous and loving spirit, his ready smile, and his sunny disposition will be very much missed at the Capitol; that he has brought much happiness and joy to his many friends and family members; and that even though he may be retired, he will never be forgotten at the Mississippi State Capitol:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend the career and accomplishments of our dear friend and colleague, Alfred Lee "Frog" Wilson, Sr., and express to him that he will be very much missed at the Capitol and that we hope he will visit as often as possible.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be presented to Mr. Alfred Lee "Frog" Wilson, Sr., and furnished to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.