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WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. J. Van Alfred Winsett has pastored the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the past 39 years, and has greatly supported the Ebenezer community by overseeing the construction of a 7 million dollar facility after a 2004 fire completely destroyed the original church, as well as building a Senior Citizens complex and Personal Care home; and,
WHEREAS, a devoted leader of the religious community in Pittsburgh, Reverend Winsett is currently a member of the Pittsburgh Ministers Conference and Supervisor of Master Teachers Division of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education, and in the past he has held positions such as Dean of Students of the American Baptist College Pittsburgh Extension and President of the Pennsylvania Baptist State Convention; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Winsett, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, understands the importance of education, having earned a Bachelors and Masters Degrees at Simmons University, a Doctorate Degree in Texas, a certificate in Computer Science from the University of Pittsburgh, a certificate in Sign Language from Allegheny County Community College, and an honorary Doctorate of Divinity Degree at Simmons College; and,
WHEREAS, Reverend Winsett is married to Jacqueline Owens, a retired teacher from the public school system and from the American Baptist College Pittsburgh Extension, and they are the proud parents of four successful children; and,
WHEREAS, despite having traveled to 42 states across the country and to 60 countries around the world, Reverend Winsett continues to be involved in Western Pennsylvania by speaking on a weekly radio ministry in Pennsylvania and Ohio, hosting a television ministry in the Pittsburgh area, and supporting the Baptist church community;
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare May 1, 2012 to be "Reverend Dr. J. Van Alfred Winsett Day" in the City of Pittsburgh.