CELEBRATING THE LIFETIME OF EXCELLENCE IN MINISTRY AND EDUCATION OF JESSE BERNARD BILBERRY, JR.; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 39
(Extensions of Remarks - March 05, 2019)
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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING THE LIFETIME OF EXCELLENCE IN MINISTRY AND EDUCATION OF
JESSE BERNARD BILBERRY, JR.
______
HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND
of louisiana
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Mr. RICHMOND. Madam Speaker, I join former Congressman Cleo Fields
and the entire Baton Rouge community today in honor of Reverend Jesse
Bernard Bilberry, Jr. Rev. Bilberry has spent the entirety of his life
dedicated to educational and community development. Revered as a
trailblazer throughout his lifetime, Rev. Bilberry most recently
retired after 34 years of pastoral service at Mt. Pilgrim Missionary
Baptist Church in Baton Rouge.
Rev. Bilberry was born on May 12, 1929 in Marion, Louisiana the
oldest of ten children of Jesse Bernard Bilberry, Sr. and Joe B.
Bilberry. He was baptized at the age of 14 at the Bloomberg Grove
Baptist Church in Farmerville, Louisiana. Rev. Bilberry went on to earn
his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern University and A&M College.
An Army veteran, Rev. Bilberry was honorably discharged from the United
States Army after serving from August 18, 1951 to July 21, 1953.
After Rev. Bilberry' s return from the Army, he went on to marry
Verta Lee Hamilton on December 23, 1953. The couple has one daughter,
Cassandra Gail.
Rev. Bilberry began a new chapter in life after marriage that started
his esteemed trajectory in educational and community development. He
began his career as the principal of Tensas Rosenwald High School in
St. Joseph, Louisiana from 1956 to 1969. During this time, he completed
his Master of Education from Louisiana State University in 1957. He was
also awarded the Human Rights Award for Creative Leadership in
Education in 1968.
In 1969, Rev. Bilberry took his talents back to Southern University
where he served as the Freshman Complex Director until 1971. He then
implemented and directed the inaugural Office of High School Relations
at Southern from 1971 to 1973. The following year, Rev. Bilberry was
promoted to Director of Admissions of Southern University, where he
served this role until 1984.
During his early years as Director of Admissions for Southern, Rev.
Bilberry first became acquainted with Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church in
1975. He was later ordained a Deacon and asked to serve as the Chairman
of the Finance Committee. By 1981, he became an Associate Minister.
Rev. Bilberry retired from Southern University and the State of
Louisiana in 1984. That same year, he accepted the pastorate of Mt.
Pilgrim Baptist Church. Rev. Bilberry continued his studies of the
church and graduated from Christian Bible College in 1988 with a Master
of Theology and a Doctorate of Theology in 1990.
Throughout his lifetime, Rev. Bilberry has received numerous awards
and recognition, including Minister of the Year in 1989 from the Early
Risers Kiwanis Club, two-time recipient of the M.S. Tally Walk on the
Water Award from the Department of Christian Education in 1991 and
1992, and the Frontiersman Award from the Sunday School Publishing
Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. in 1993 for his
work leading a mission trip to Dominica, West Indies.
Rev. Bilberry has also dedicated his time to a plethora of scholastic
and service-oriented organizations, including the Southern University
and A&M College Board of Supervisors, supervisor and instructor for the
National Baptist Congress of Christian Education, and a member of East
Baton Rouge Parish Ministers Conference, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and
Phi Delta Kappa Honorary Society.
Rev. Bilberry's trajectory in leadership continued as Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Crestworth Learning Academy, President of the
Fourth District Missionary Baptist Association, and State Director of
the Louisiana Missionary Baptist Congress of Christian Education.
Rev. Bilberry has led a life of exemplary service, leadership, and
compassion that has resonated throughout the entire Baton Rouge
community and the state of Louisiana. His lifetime body of work should
be well known and celebrated not only by those he has influenced
throughout the years, but by all who seek to make a difference in this
world through the vocation of ministry and education.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor the life and work of Rev. Jesse
Bernard Bilberry, Jr. and wish him luck in his retirement.
____________________