HONORING FRED ROBINSON AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

HONORING FRED ROBINSON AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2025)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E145] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING FRED ROBINSON AS A DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH ______ HON. DARREN SOTO of florida in the house of representatives Friday, February 21, 2025 Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, Fred Robinson enlisted into the United States Marine Corps at 17 during the Vietnam War. Fred was the Vitas Healthcare Veterans liaison covering Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties from 2012 through 2021. Fred is a national and regional mentor for We Honor Veterans. He was the first Florida Vitas Healthcare Veterans liaison to achieve Level V accreditation from WHV, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, in collaboration with the U S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It invites hospices, state hospice organizations, hospice-Veteran partnerships, and VA facilities to join a pioneering program focused on recognizing the unique needs of America's Veterans and their families. Fred is also certified in CE training for the End- of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). This project is both a national and international initiative to improve palliative care. Fred's collaborations with the Osceola Council on Aging, Veterans organizations, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and community health fairs provide vital information to attendees by debunking the myth of hospice, educating Veterans and community families on end-of-life care, and informing them about resources and benefits that many are unaware of so they can make informed decisions on how they want to be cared for at the end of their life. Some of Fred's achievements include being named Orlando Business Journal's Veteran of Influence 2019, being a National Partner to the 50th Commemoration of Vietnam Veterans out of the Pentagon since 2013, being named the Orlando Mayors Veterans Advisory Council Hero of COVID 2021, receiving the HFUW Mission United Inaugural Game Change Impact Maker Award 2021, being in the Florida Governors Veterans HOF Class of 2021, being named the OCMVAC Inaugural Veteran of the Year 2023, and receiving the 1st Baptist Church Academies Patriot of the Year Award 2023. Fred volunteered as the co-chair of OCMVAC from 2018-2023 and became the chair in 2023. He has also been a OMVAC member since 2013, the VP of CMSGT R. Hall, Jr., Tuskegee Airman Central Florida Chapter since 2019, and a member of Congressman Soto's Veterans Advisory Board since 2014. Additionally, he has been a member of the Heart of Florida United Way Mission United Council since 2020, is a member of the HFUW Mission United Veteran Council, and has been a member of the VA Patient Experience Council since 2022. ____________________