IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE DEMETRIUS ANTHONY YOUNG

IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE DEMETRIUS ANTHONY YOUNG

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E44-E45] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] IN MEMORY OF THE HONORABLE DEMETRIUS ANTHONY YOUNG ______ HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. of georgia in the house of representatives Thursday, January 16, 2025 Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a loving father, dedicated brother, committed community servant and dear friend of longstanding, Commissioner Demetrius Anthony Young. Sadly, Commissioner Young passed from labor to reward on December 29, 2024. A homegoing service to celebrate his remarkable life was held on January 3, 2025, at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. The genesis of the life of Demetrius Young began with his birth on January 7, 1971, in Albany, Georgia to the union of the late Representative Mary Young Cummings and Mr. Henry ``Hank'' Young, Sr. He was a proud product of the Dougherty County School System, graduating from Monroe Comprehensive High School in 1990. While at Monroe, he was a member of the marching band, playing tri-tomes and was a drummer. He went on to further his education, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Albany State University and Master of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy in 2020. Commissioner Young had a distinguished 25-year career in Information Technology. He was a Member Services Engineer for the Community Development Institute in Denver, Colorado where he worked for almost nine years. He returned to Albany, Georgia after his tenure with the Institute ended. Like his beloved mother before him who served as a City Commissioner for the City of Albany and as a Georgia State Representative, Demetrius had a burning desire to be a public servant. And in 2019, armed with that fire and background, he ran for his mother's old seat on the City Commission and was successful. He ran to be an advocate for those that he represented. He was that and so much more. He was a voice to the voiceless and gave hope to the hopeless. Truly, he was an advocate for East and South Albany. He fought against discriminatory practices in the City Code, expanded access to procurement opportunities for minority owned businesses, and fought fervently against voter suppression in all its forms. A committed man of faith, Commissioner Young leaned on his faith that was molded from his days as a child at the Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church. His faith was his moral compass that guided his life's work. Commissioner Young loved his family, and nowhere was that exhibited more than with his support of his daughters, JaMiya, Nubia, Kenya and Erika. He was their biggest cheerleader and always reveled in their success. On a personal note, Commissioner Young and his extended family have been dear friends to me for many years. I served with his mother in the General Assembly for several years. She was a dedicated community servant and passed that love of community on to Demetrius, and I am sure she beamed with pride as she watched his activism and public service. George Washington Carver once said that ``How far you go in life depends on your being tender with young, compassionate with aged; sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong because someday in your life you will have been all of these.'' Commissioner Young went far in life because he advocated and worked on behalf of people from all walks of life. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my Wife, Vivian, and me along with the more than 765,000 people of Georgia's Second Congressional District in honoring the life and legacy of Commissioner Demetrius Anthony Young and in extending our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, colleagues and all who mourn his loss. We pray that all will be consoled by [[Page E45]] an abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the days, weeks, and months ahead. ____________________