2016 -- S 2913

========

LC005660

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

____________

S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING RUTH BARGE THUMBTZEN ON BEING SELECTED AS ONE OF

THE 2016 NEWPORT DAILY NEWS COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD WINNERS

     Introduced By: Senators Paiva Weed, DiPalma, Felag, Pagliarini, and Lombardi

     Date Introduced: April 14, 2016

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, The Newport Daily News established a "Community Service Award" in

1996 on the paper's 150th Anniversary celebration in order to recognize and encourage

volunteerism within the community; and

     WHEREAS, Chosen from a field of nearly 20 nominees, Ruth Thumbtzen, who retired

after 30 years as a physical education and health teacher at Thompson Middle School and 10

years as a community liaison for Salve Regina University, was selected as one of the 2016

recipients of this prestigious award for the "variety of organizations" and "the lasting impact” of

her volunteer efforts; and

     WHEREAS, Born and raised in Selma, Alabama, Ms. Thumbtzen grew up in a family

that understood and actively contributed to the betterment of their community and this country. In

the 1960s, her mother worked with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the civil rights

movement, and her father served in the United States Navy for 25 years; and

     WHEREAS, To the immense benefit of the City of Newport, Mr. Barge's military service

resulted in Ruth's family moving to the city during her college years. Upon graduation from

Hampton University, she moved to Newport and took a position teaching at the middle school;

and

     WHEREAS, Throughout her career in education, and her subsequent retirement, Ms.

Thumbtzen has volunteered for myriad initiatives and organizations but perhaps more

monumental has been her guidance and the inspiration she provides to all around her; and

     WHEREAS, Ruth Thumbtzen's dedication and "boundless energy" have resulted in the

formation of the Aquidneck Island Minority Scholarship Fund, mentoring myriad students,

spending her Sunday's distributing a sundry of care and comfort items to patients at the hospital

and her Fridays at the hospital's gift shop, as well as collaborating on projects to get college

students involved with the local hospital in various volunteer roles; and

     WHEREAS, In addition, Ms. Thumbtzen is the founder and President of the Mora E.

Brown Hammonds Scholarship Fund, has served as President of the Board of Directors for the

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Center, joined efforts with her siblings to create the

Pauline Hudson Barge Memorial Scholarship in honor of their mother, and has served on the

Board of Trustees and as Vice President of the Newport Public Library; and

     WHEREAS, In 2014, Ms. Thumbtzen was honored with the Newport County

Community Mental Health Center's Board of Directors Award for the many years she served on

the Board and for her commitment to the organization and the community. She has also been a

longtime volunteer at the Newport Art Museum and served on the Board of Directors of Freedom

Housing, Inc. and the Salvation Army; and

     WHEREAS, Ruth Thumbtzen's loyalty, dedication and commitment to her friends and

the community are well known, and this generous and spirited lady is a true role model for us all

and eminently worthy of this award and our utmost gratitude; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby congratulates and honors Ms. Ruth Barge Thumbtzen on being selected as one of the 2016

Newport Daily News Community Service Award Winners. Her years of devoted service to the

community are an inspiration to us all; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Ms. Ruth Barge Thumbtzen.

========

LC005660

========

LC005660 - Page 2 of 2