Alan Grayson

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the life and legacy of Richard ``Rick'' Ellis Namey, who died of a heart attack on February 26 at the age of 66. Rick wasn't a man defined by one title, one line of work, or one talent. He was many things: successful concert promoter, advertising genius, pitchman, standup comic, author, screenwriter, and political activist. Friends and family say one thing is certain; he didn't do anything halfway. With every endeavor, he went all out.

Rick was born in Baltimore on February 12, 1949. The oldest son of Albert and Salam Namey, his father met his mother while traveling abroad in Beirut, Lebanon. An aerospace engineer, Albert took a job with Martin Marietta and the family moved to Orlando when Rick was 10.

Rick began pursuing his ambitions while attending Winter Park High School and Sanford Naval Academy. At age 16, he won a teen disc jockey competition on WLOF-AM and began managing local bands like Mr. Banana and the Bunch and Marshmallow Steamshovel. He was also a performer.

Rick's first business venture was a coffee shop called The Hobbit in Daytona Beach, which catered to the hippie crowd, followed by The Purple Door in Bithlo. His success booking national acts like Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band for events at the Tangerine Bowl and the Daytona International Speedway led him to start Cosmic Productions. Rick was part of the promotional team for Woodstock and appears in a documentary about the 1969 music festival.

Rick took ideas and turned them into reality, even if they failed. During the Summer of Love, he started a business selling love beads. He had an importer, stringer, and packager and he was going to make thousands--until it was revealed the ink on his product was poisonous. Despite some setbacks, Rick's many successes were featured in an Orlando Sentinel article when he was just 23.

An active participant in the civil rights movement, Rick attended rallies and worked on presidential campaigns including McGovern/ Eagleton and Carter/Mondale. Though Central Florida was always his home and he worked hard to promote it, he often rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. Old photos show Rick and the Carter family at home watching the Kentucky Derby in the 1970s.

The list of Rick's accomplishments is long. Rick and his brother, Charles, started two of Orlando's first black pop radio stations--WORJ and WORL--and Kissimmee's first tourist channel. Rick had a nationally syndicated radio show with Hugh Rodham, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's brother. He also served as interim manager for the Backstreet Boys and cut an album of Vietnam War protest songs.

Through his company, Stuyvesant Corporation, Rick wrote hundreds of TV and radio ads including ``Mr. Stereo and Video,'' ``Mad Max,'' ``Cheese Wars'' and ``Sounds Unlimited.'' Many of his ads garnered him national Addy Awards for creative excellence.

Rick was most proud of his screenwriting, which included Lake Woebegone Boys with Garrison Keiler, and Matt Merlin, a story about a kid wizard. Universal Studios optioned Matt Merlin well before Harry Potter took the world by storm.

He was also the author of several published non-fiction books including Fodor's Disney Like A Pro, Orlando Like A Pro, and Buy This Book and Make Me Rich, a political satire. His most recent book, Casey's Ghost, chronicled his brief stint as the ghost writer for Casey Anthony, who was acquitted of the 2008 murder of her daughter Caylee in a trial televised worldwide.

Mr. Namey was a longtime member of Mensa. In recent years, he spent his time volunteering for local Democratic candidates and rallying for liberal causes. His ideas never stopped, his opinions grew stronger with age, and his love for his family was unparalleled.

I am humbled to honor the memory, life, and outstanding achievements of Richard Namey.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an outstanding member of the Central Florida community, Trevor Colbourn. Trevor passed away on January 13, 2015 at the age of 87 and will be deeply missed.

Born in Armindale, New South Wales, Australia on February 24, 1927, Trevor became the second President of, what was then known as, the Florida Technological University in 1978. Recognizing that the University had grown beyond being just ``Florida's Space University,'' Trevor renamed the institution the University of Central Florida. In addition to the high-profile name change, Trevor also established the University's honors program and a football program that went on to earn national rankings. Trevor nurtured Orlando's fledgling research park, and developed a partnership with Orange County that has created thousands of high tech jobs and helped transform the region's economy.

Under Trevor's leadership, the University introduced the state's first stand-alone doctoral program in computer science, and expanded its Ph.D. offerings to include civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, industrial and environmental engineering. Trevor also spearheaded a long effort to create equitable funding for the state's newer universities to put them on the same financial footing as the well- established state universities.

Known as the ``Scholar President,'' Trevor held degrees from the University of London, the College of William and Mary, and the Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his doctorate in American History in 1953. An expert on the American Revolution and Thomas Jefferson, Trevor penned a number of books and articles, including The Lamp of Experience, Fame and the Founding Father, and The Americans: A Brief History.

Trevor was an active member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, the Orlando Crime Prevention Association, the Board of Visitors of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, the United Way, the Greater Orlando Sports Organizing Committee, the Kiwanis Club, the boards of the local opera company and public television station and the Organization of American Historians.

A lifelong Episcopalian, Trevor is survived by Beryl, his wife of 66 years, his daughters, Katherine ``Kit'' Wrye and Elinor Colbourn, and four grandchildren.

I am saddened by the loss of such a valuable member of the Central Florida community and extend my heartfelt condolences to his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments of Florida's LGBT community in their fight against discrimination. In particular, I would like to commend their commitment to bringing marriage equality to the great State of Florida.

Following decades of advocacy and exhaustive legal battles, marriage equality finally became legal this week in Florida. At 12:01 a.m. on January 6, 2015, the Osceola County Courthouse opened its doors. I stood with Armando Ramirez, the county's Clerk of Courts, as he conducted the first same-sex marriage ceremony in Central Florida, which united County Commissioner Cheryl Grieb and her partner of 22 years, Patti Daugherty. At long last, the promise of marriage equality was fulfilled.

More than twenty couples participated in marriage ceremonies, before the courthouse doors closed at 2 a.m. These couples had at last achieved one of the greatest promises of this nation, the promise of equal protection under the law.

What this demonstrated is that the American Dream is not really about a house, a job, or a 401(k) plan. The American Dream is also about love, opportunity, and equality--the promise that each and every one of us has the right to love whomever we please, and the opportunity to have our love recognized equally by the law.

Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of Floridians fighting for marriage equality, same-sex couples in Florida finally had that opportunity. The marriages that began on January 6th at 12:01 a.m. could not have happened without the perseverance of these individuals.

To those Floridians who fought for this day, I say ``congratulations'' and ``thank you.'' Thank you for helping our State and our communities come one step closer to true equality. I am proud to have worked with you to achieve this goal. There is more work to be done, and I look forward to serving as your ally in the years ahead.

The Osceola County Commission and the Osceola County Clerk of Courts Armando Ramirez also deserve thanks for their efforts. When county clerks in Florida were advised that they would face arrest if they issued same-sex licenses, Commissioner Grieb and I called on State Attorney Jeff Ashton to promise that he would not prosecute clerks for doing so. Thankfully, he agreed. Following my letter urging the County Commission to ensure that same-sex marriages could take place in Osceola County immediately, the Commission and the Clerk worked together to issue licenses and conduct ceremonies as soon as legally possible.

I also want to acknowledge the Floridians who fought for marriage equality but never lived to see this dream become reality. For those who called for marriage equality when others said it was impossible; those who had the audacity to believe in equality when many could not; and those who paved the way for this historical achievement but never experienced it for themselves. This is their legacy. May their memory serve as an inspiration for the next generation of Floridians striving to achieve a more equal and just world.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to celebrate this enormous accomplishment and honor the Floridians who made this happen.