Tribute in Memory of Leonard Lawson

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory of Leonard Lawson, my long-time friend and trusted advisor, who literally moved mountains in Kentucky and our neighboring states.

Leonard's astute business leadership and savvy partnerships led to his rise as a giant in the transportation industry, becoming a leader across the Commonwealth and nationally-renowned among industry experts for the companies he built to transform Kentucky and beyond. In fact, his companies' portfolios include more than $10 billion in highway and airport infrastructure projects across Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana, and Ohio, including interstate construction and widening projects, working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and completing local development projects.

Although his success was widely applauded and criticized by the media over the years, Leonard was a very private man who came from humble beginnings. He grew up without many resources, and he and his wife, Bonnie, were both proud graduates of the Red Bird Christian School, a small private school nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Clay County, Kentucky. Struggling to sustain the costs of operating such a courageous mission at the school, the Lawsons raised and donated enough money to reopen its doors, ensuring future students could live in the dormitory throughout high school, as Bonnie did. The Red Bird Christian School became one of many philanthropic endeavors that the Lawsons invested in. Before being diagnosed with cancer, Leonard generated enough funds to start and eventually expand the Leonard Lawson Cancer Center at Pikeville Medical Center. Last year alone, his generosity helped provide treatment to nearly 3,600 patients who otherwise would have driven hours for the same medical care. Despite losing his own battle with cancer, I am confident that his legacy cancer center will extend lifesaving hope to countless patients in the future.

Many of us dream of ways to win the tireless war on poverty and how to change the course of generational challenges in Kentucky's Appalachian region, but Leonard skillfully managed to do his part to make a lasting difference and systemically impacted access to better roads and much-needed medical care in the mountains.

Eastern Kentucky will be a different place without him. I'II miss our fishing trips and casting visionary plans together to help our beloved home region. Leonard's small stature could not contain the insurmountable hope he had for a brighter future in southern and eastern Kentucky. He leaves behind an expansive legacy that will live on in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky for many years. My wife, Cynthia, and I extend our deepest heartfelt condolences to Bonnie and the entire Lawson family.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source