A house RESOLUTION

TO HONOR THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF PROMINENT AFRICAN AMERICAN EDUCATOR M. LANELLE KOHN OF COLUMBIA.

Whereas, the daughter of Lenzo C. and Vasteen Kohn, M. LaNelle was born a twin and one of five children. She attended the public schools of Richland School District One, graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1968. In furtherance of her education, she obtained a bachelor's degree in biology from Benedict College in Columbia and studied further at South Carolina State University, Clemson University, Furman University, the College of Charleston, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mrs. Kohn received her MAT from the University of South Carolina in health education; and

Whereas, this dedicated educator and member of Phi Beta Kappa taught for twenty-two years in Richland School District One and continued her work as a science specialist with the State Department of Education, from which she retired in 2008; and

Whereas, as a member of the First Nazareth Baptist Church Trustee Ministry, she was elected the first female chair and served from 2000 to 2006. A servant-leader of her church in various capacities for fifty years, Mrs. Kohn also serves as a board member of the Booker T. Washington High School Foundation and is the longtime treasurer of the Columbia Branch NAACP. She is a life member of the latter organization; and

Whereas, in addition, Mrs. Kohn has been a member of several national, state, and local organizations and continues to hold office in a few of them. She has received, among many other honors, the 2008 South Carolina Science Council William F. Palmer Award for Exemplary Service to the council, and she has enjoyed the privilege of serving as presenter for the National Association of Science Educators in Washington, D.C. (2014), as well as science presenter for the Southern Association of Colleges & University Presidents in Albany, New York (2004); and

Whereas, the legacy of M. LaNelle Kohn endures today through the students she taught and the adults she influenced as an educator. Still creating that legacy, she has two ambitions as a retiree: to pass on to children and adults the love of science, especially in the fields of physics and chemistry, and to teach them to swim. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor the life and achievements of prominent African American educator M. LaNelle Kohn of Columbia.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to M. LaNelle Kohn.

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