LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Joy McDuffie upon the occasion of her
designation as recipient of the Education Award on March 21, 2010

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, Joy McDuffie has given not only of her time and energies but
also of her competence, intelligence and leadership and consequently has
been designated for special honor; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Joy
McDuffie upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of the Educa-
tion Award to be celebrated in recognition of Women's History Month on
March 21, 2010, at a ceremony held at the Erie County Historical Socie-
ty, Buffalo, New York; and
WHEREAS, Joy McDuffie is presently the Chair of the Committee for Drop
Out Prevention; she also serves on the Mayor's Anti-Flipping Task Force,
the Erie County Distressed Properties Task Force and is a board member
of Preservation Buffalo Niagara and the Buffalo Alliance for Education;
and
WHEREAS, She is involved in several community initiatives, including
her work on the Joint Schools Construction Board zones; Joy McDuffie has
worked diligently on creating GIS socioeconomic maps of neighborhoods in
the greater Buffalo, New York area for use in addressing the issue of
abandoned housing in a study entitled "Transforming Neighborhoods of
Circumstance into Neighborhoods of Choice"; and
WHEREAS, Joy McDuffie is committed to neighborhood revitalization and
believes that School-Centered Community Revitalization (SCCR) is the
path that will lead Buffalo down an increasingly progressive and innova-
tive road to economic health; as such, she has set her sights on educa-
tion with the initial focus being high school dropout prevention and
dropout recovery; and
WHEREAS, Her tireless effort and undying determination to ensure that
the City of Buffalo is a part of the national dropout prevention and
dropout recovery conversation, from an economic development standpoint,
culminated in a collaboration of several entities to host the First
Annual City of Buffalo Dropout Prevention Leadership Summit; and
WHEREAS, Joy McDuffie is actively involved in housing revitalization
and is a member of the FLARE Housing committee; additionally, she has
recently authored a neighborhood stabilization proposal grant for the
Fillmore Leroy Residents Association (FLARE) seeking funding for the
acquisition, rehabilitation and sale of distressed vacant properties to
low-income prospects; and
WHEREAS, Joy McDuffie has been called upon to contribute her time and
talents to countless civic and charitable endeavors and has always given
of herself unstintingly; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of her community service, a
period of constructive involvement, Joy McDuffie has stood constant in
dignity, good grace and humor; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by an individ-
ual for the benefit of others which Joy McDuffie has displayed through-
out her life; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Joy McDuffie upon the occasion of her designation as recipient of
the Education Award on March 21, 2010; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Joy McDuffie.