Madame Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Helen Bradley, a woman who spent a lifetime giving back to the community she loved dearly through her dedicated service as Jefferson County Clerk. She was a true treasure to Pine Bluff and Jefferson County, and her honorable service will never be forgotten by the State of Arkansas. She passed away May 11, 2007, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, at the age of 59. 

  I am grateful to have known Helen Bradley and to have had the privilege to call her a personal friend. She spent her life and career making her community a better place for all who called it home.

  Mrs. Bradley’s lasting impact on Jefferson County will be remembered forever. Her selfless and devoted career began after graduating from what is now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, when she was hired as Deputy County Clerk for Jefferson County. She held that position for 22 years before she was elected to serve as Jefferson County’s first African-American County Clerk. During her career, she also served as Secretary for the Jefferson County Quorum Court and the Equalization Board. Mrs. Bradley was also a member of the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers, the West Pine Bluff Rotary Club and she was a proud member of the Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. As a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), she received the distinguished Pine Bluff Branch NAACP Dove Freedom Award in October 2006.

  My deepest condolences go to Mrs. Bradley’s husband, Sylvester Bradley Sr., of Pine Bluff; her two sons Sedgwick McCollum of Flint, MI, and Brandon Bradley of Plano, TX; her daughter Tarnisha Gibson of Columbia, SC; her two brothers James Edward McClinton of Flint, MI, and John Albert McClinton of Pine Bluff; her sister Cecile Blade of Pine Bluff; and to her 9 grandchildren. Mrs. Bradley will be greatly missed, and her contributions to the city of Pine Bluff, Jefferson County and the state of Arkansas will never be forgotten.