February 22, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 33 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
TRIBUTE TO ROY DOUGLAS AND SHIRLEY ANN MALONSON OF HOUSTON, TEXAS ENTREPRENEURS, PHILANTHROPISTS, COMMUNITY LEADERS WHOSE LIFETIME OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT HAS ENRICHED OUR NATION; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 33
(Extensions of Remarks - February 22, 2019)
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[Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E196-E197] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] TRIBUTE TO ROY DOUGLAS AND SHIRLEY ANN MALONSON OF HOUSTON, TEXAS ENTREPRENEURS, PHILANTHROPISTS, COMMUNITY LEADERS WHOSE LIFETIME OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT HAS ENRICHED OUR NATION ______ HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE of texas in the house of representatives Friday, February 22, 2019 Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Roy Douglas and Shirley Ann Malonson, two great Americans in the City of Houston and Harris County, Texas, whose entrepreneurial talents and zeal over the past three decades has raised the consciousness of Houston's African American community to the life-changing potential of the free enterprise system and created thousands of jobs in the Acres Home Community located in my congressional district and Houston Metroplex. Acres Homes, once considered the South's largest unincorporated black community, is south of Aldine and ten miles northwest of downtown Houston in Harris County. It developed around the time of World War I, when landholders began selling off home sites in plots big enough to allow small gardens and maintain chickens or farm animals. The town derived its name from the fact that land was sold by the acre and not by the lot. The first settlers came from rural areas, attracted by the community's inexpensive land, low taxes, and the absence of city building standards. Residents dug wells and built sanitary facilities, but conditions in the settlement subsequently declined. When the city of Houston approved a plan to annex the area and install water and sewer lines, Acres Homes was a 12\1/2\-square-mile, heavily wooded, and dispersed slum settlement lacking transportation and educational facilities. Although 90 percent of the residents were homeowners, the majority of the housing stock was substandard. In 1950, Roy Malonson was afflicted with polio that left him with physical limitations, but it had no effect on his vision and drive. His late father, John Curley Malonson, Sr., challenged him by saying, ``something is wrong with your leg, but there is nothing wrong with your mind, so work with what you have.'' At age 7, Roy Malonson was shining shoes in his father's barber shop and by age 13 had opened a woodworking shop. The woodworking company grew to become Roy's Custom Cabinets which later became the Malonson Construction Company which became Malonson Custom Homes and is now the Malonson Company, Inc., one of the largest and best African American custom homebuilders in Houston. In the early 1990s, Roy Malonson developed new health problems, struck by what has come to be called the ``Post-Polio Syndrome.'' Once again using mind over physical limitation, Roy Malonson overcame and adapted. He retired from his 27-year old building business, reduced his workday, and devoted more time to community service and businesses he could manage. This enabled him to devote and donate more time and financial support to the many educational and community organizations he helped establish, including the Acres Home War on Drugs, the first community war on drugs in the nation. Roy and Shirley Malonson also founded the Acres Home Citizen Chamber of Commerce, focusing on business, community, and education; the Acres Home Community Development Corp, focusing on housing; the Acres Home Coalition Administrative School, the first charter school in Texas; and in 1994 the Acres Home Center for Business & Economic Development, a non-profit 501(c)(3) which has become recognized as a cornerstone providing leadership, as well as personal and professional development opportunities to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the community. The Malonsons were the driving force behind Aldine Independent School District Montessori-Magnet Programs, the Lone Star Community College System Victory Center, the Acres Home Multiservice Center, and the Acres Home Police Station. Roy and Shirley Malonson invested in and uplifted the Acres Home Community by establishing in 1992 Shirley Ann's Black Art & Kollectibles Showroom, the largest Black Art & Kollectibles Showroom in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. In 1996 they established African American News & Issues, the largest African American newspaper in Texas and one of the largest in the nation. And in 1998, with one mission in mind, to offer and deliver pizza in the African American community, they purchased two Domino's Pizza stores, the South Victory and Ella locations, and had controlling interest in a total of ten locations throughout Houston. Roy and Shirley Ann Malonson continued their entrepreneurial zeal and commitment to the Acres Home community by establishing in [[Page E197]] 1998 the Malonson RS Ranch in Harris County; the RS Deer Ranch in Waller County in 2004, one of two African American Whitetail Deer Breeders in the nation; Shirley Ann's Flower Shop in 2013; the RS Deer & Cattle Ranch in Waller County; and Shirley Ann's Black Kollectibles & Flowers in 2014. Shirley Ann Malonson is now President and CEO of the Malonson Company. Roy Douglas Malonson and Shirley Ann Malonson are the proud parents of a daughter, Melanie Nicole Malonson, and the grandparents of Tayler and Caleb. Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor two legendary Texas heroes, my constituents, Roy Douglas and Shirley Ann Malonson, who have devoted their lifetimes to creating economic opportunity and development for their beloved Acres Homes community. These two great American trailblazers have made a difference in the lives of thousands of men, women, children and businesses. Their work has brought our nation closer to fulfilling its founding ideals. And it is that work that truly makes America great. ____________________