PRINTER'S NO. 3483
No. 668 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY M. SMITH, MAHER, BELFANTI, BENNINGTON, BEYER,
BISHOP, BOBACK, BRENNAN, BROOKS, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN,
CREIGHTON, DALEY, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, FABRIZIO, FRANKEL,
FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GOODMAN,
GRUCELA, HARHART, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, JAMES, W. KELLER, KULA,
MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANN, MANTZ, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MOYER, MURT,
MUSTIO, MYERS, PALLONE, PARKER, PAYNE, PHILLIPS, RAMALEY,
READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROHRER, ROSS, RUBLEY, SAINATO, SCAVELLO,
SHIMKUS, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, SONNEY, SWANGER, THOMAS,
VULAKOVICH, WALKO, J. WHITE, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND
D. O'BRIEN, MARCH 27, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 27, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing April 12, 2008, as "Martha Dixon Day" in
2 Pennsylvania, to honor the life of FBI Special Agent Martha
3 Dixon.
4 WHEREAS, Martha Dixon was born January 10, 1959, in Mount
5 Lebanon, Pennsylvania; and
6 WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon graduated from Mount Lebanon High School
7 in 1977; and
8 WHEREAS, She continued her education at the University of
9 Pittsburgh, from which she graduated in 1982 with a degree in
10 chemistry; and
11 WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon began her professional career in Little
12 Rock, Arkansas, at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory where she
13 worked as a forensic chemist analyzing crime scenes and
1 providing expert testimony on behalf of the State of Arkansas;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon became an agent of the Federal Bureau of
4 Investigation (FBI) in 1987; and
5 WHEREAS, She was then assigned to the Knoxville, Tennessee,
6 FBI Field Office, where, among other assignments, she negotiated
7 and resolved the uprising at the Talladega Federal Correctional
8 Institution in August 1991; and
9 WHEREAS, Her participation in this event and successful
10 forced entry into the prison, which had been overtaken by
11 prisoners, returned control to prison officials, for which she
12 was decorated for her bravery; and
13 WHEREAS, In 1992, Ms. Dixon was transferred from the
14 Knoxville field office to the Washington, D.C. Main Field Office
15 of the FBI (WMFO), and assigned to the Cold Case Homicide Task
16 Force to assist the Washington, D.C. Metro Police Force in
17 determining unsolved crimes; and
18 WHEREAS, On November 22, 1994, Special Agent Dixon made the
19 ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the FBI as she responded to
20 gunfire in the Cold Case Division area of the WMFO; and
21 WHEREAS, By injuring the perpetrator, Ms. Dixon prevented the
22 possibility of an even greater loss of human life and injury to
23 fellow law enforcement agents and civilians within the building;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon has been awarded several honors, including
26 the FBI Memorial Star, the FBI Commendation for Meritorious
27 Service, the FBI Medal of Valor, the Michael John Buczek Medal
28 of Honor, the FBI Agents Association's J. Edgar Hoover Memorial
29 Award for Valor, the Attorney General's Award for Bravery, the
30 naming of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office in her honor,
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1 recognition on numerous memorial plaques and the 2006
2 Outstanding Mount Lebanon High School Alumni Award; and
3 WHEREAS, In memory of Ms. Dixon, her family initiated the
4 Martha Fund; and
5 WHEREAS, The largest fundraiser for the Martha Fund is
6 "Martha's Run," which is an event exemplifying Ms. Dixon's love
7 of running, and the 2008 "Martha's Run" is scheduled for April
8 12, 2008; and
9 WHEREAS, Donations to the Martha Fund are used to build or
10 renovate and maintain playgrounds, and to date three public
11 playgrounds have been erected in her honor, including Martha's
12 Playground in Mount Lebanon; and
13 WHEREAS, Martha was the proud aunt to several nieces and
14 nephews and loved watching them play; and
15 WHEREAS, These playgrounds offer children a safe place to
16 play; therefore be it
17 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize April
18 12, 2008, as "Martha Dixon Day" in Pennsylvania, to honor the
19 life of this brave woman who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the
20 service to and protection of others.
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