 If you know Judge McDuffie, she believed in starting on time or before time so we will follow protocol. As you can see if you have a program, I am not the honorable Tamika Isaac Devine. She is away in court and she will make it. But she has sent the statement for me to read and I will read this in her absence. Greetings. It is with my deepest regret that I cannot be with all of you at the ceremony this morning. Due to a mandatory court appearance, I was called away to handle legal matters today. In my absence, I wanted to send just a few thoughts about how special this ceremony is and truly how special the woman who is being honored to me is. The honorary naming of King Street where a queen lives is such a special occasion. When I think of all the great work Judge Mildred Weathers McDuffie has done for this community, I am so honored to have sponsored the resolution to rename this street upon the suggestion of Senator Darryl Jackson. Judge Mildred Weathers McDuffie is truly one of my sheroes. Someone whose shoulders I and many community leaders have stood. She is also one of my most admired mentors and truly a role model. However, I know she is all of these things to many here in the community. That is one of the special things about her because she has the ability to make everyone feel special and feel inspired by her wisdom and caring nature. In our community, she has been a dedicated servant leader and a voice for those who at times were voiceless. Judge McDuffie has always taught us that serving is not about you. It is about the community and if you are blessed enough to be in a position of trust in the community with the blessing comes the responsibility to open doors for people coming after you. Speak up for what is right even when it is not popular and to use your time always working for the benefit of others. Her leadership during times of transition and change helped to lay a foundation of cohesiveness that has made our city stronger. Over the years, she has been a trusted confidant and has helped to guide me when I've had to make decisions about challenging matters that would ultimately impact the future. She is not only wise, but also fair and she has used her skills, talents and abilities to better the lives of others. For her work with Richland One, Allen University, to her time on the Summary Court bench, her continued work with the community as chair of the Columbia Empowerment Zone Inc. She is truly a servant leader and an inspiration to all. For a woman who has given so much to so many, it is only befitting on this day, we name this street and her honor as our way of saying thank you for all that you have given and continue to give the city. Thank you and we love you. And that is from Councilwoman Mika Duvall. I think those words resonate, they definitely do with me. She has been the same for me, the Empowerment Zone. Our Father and our God, Lord, we thank you for this wonderful blessed day. And even though the clouds hover over us, there's sunshine or joy in our hearts as we gather here this day on this special occasion to honor one of your special servants. We thank you, oh God, for what you have done for her, in her and through her, down through the years. And it's only because of your grace that she has been able to bless so many others. All the children today meet honor, the auspices of Jesus to Christ, who we give all the honor, all the glory, and all the praise. And even though now she may be physically handed the cup, we thank you, her mind is still free, her heart is still full of love. And so we celebrate now, a woman who has lived a life that was full of service, commitment, joy, and brought so much to others. We thank you for Senator Jackson and former Mayor Cobo. Thank you for our current Mayor and the City Council, County Representative, Superintendent, all who were involved in this special occasion. And reminding us, Lord, we're not an entity unto ourselves, for as you have blessed us, we must be a blessing to others. And Mothers Weathers MacDuffer has exhibited that in her life. We thank you now that even though she's sitting in that chair, her mind is free, and we still believe the best is yet to come. So we say thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Good morning. It is indeed a privilege and an honor for me to be here today. Mama Mac, as I affectionately refer to her, is my second mother to Dr. Bishop and Mama Mac and my mother. They graduated. Mama Mac and my mother did from Booker T. Washington same year. They went on to Allen University together. All of my life, she has known me. I was born right here in Waverly Hospital and my mom said she was there the next day to greet her in the hospital. What I so appreciate about Mama Mac is how she has taken young people who were once young, not so young now like Vince Ford and Aaron Bishop. And she has mentored us and she has brought us up and she took care of us. Every race I've ever ran, she was there to advise, to give us not only advice but prayer. And so it was an honor for me to appoint her as a magistrate many years ago. It was certainly an honor to recommend to City Council to name this street after Mrs. Judge Mama Mac. I wanted to do it from the state but the state did not have jurisdiction. So thank you to City Council. Thank you to all. Mama Mac, we love you. I'll leave you with these words that are found in Proverbs 31. Verse 10 begins a passage that's called The Virtuous Woman. And perhaps my favorite verse in that Proverbs is verse 28. And it says in her children, she'll rise up and call her a bless. You are blessed, Mama Mac. We love you. Now I am not Movedora. I am Ed McDowell. Mo could not be here today. But of course I wanted to say just a word. Judge, you are special, very special. When I met you some years ago, she and I sat there in the convention center, I think, and we ate fried chicken together. And we ate it so gracefully that we didn't waste anything. And I knew then that it was Providence that brought us together. Of course Steve could not be here, but of course in his stead he would simply say yay. We knew when we made this happen for you that it was going to be a glorious time, not only for our City Council, but also for this City of Columbia. You mean a lot to us. And God in his own way has so equipped you to hold the rain back to give us the platitudes and yet the attitude to say thank you. Thank you for what you've done for us. Thank you for what you will continue to do for us. And because of that, there are only two words that I can say as we honor this street corner today. Thank you. And just based upon the preponderance of the evidence, you found all of us guilty as charged for being good stewards for this city and of course for this council. Thank you, Judge. Thank you very, very much. Thank you very much. I'm honored to be here and let me say I'm first recognized Howard DeVall on City Council. Daniel, I don't think there are any other council members here. Chief Holbrook, always a pleasure to see you. And let me say Judge McDuffie worked for years unceasingly to make her community, state, and nation a better place. For 30 years, she worked tirelessly as a teacher and administrator in Richland One. And that's Ford always held her up as the role model. Judge McDuffie was elected to Richland County Council and that's a tough job and she did a wonderful job there. And she served there for one term. And she was recommended by Senator Darrell Jackson to be a magistrate. And let me just say on a personal note, my son Daniel is here. When he was appointed by the Richland County delegation to be a magistrate in the last few years, he asked me what should I do? And I said there's one role model. Judge Mildred McDuffie, you follow her in everything that you do, every decision that you make, you model yourself on her. And let me say as mayor, when I was mayor for those 20 years, Judge McDuffie was there every step of the way. Now she loved a lot of things, but she loved Bethel AME Church more, I think, than anything else. And she always had the church and the AME church in general for her. They've asked me to present the proclamation, to read the proclamation. And I would ask if the other council members would come forward. And we won't read the entire matter, but if they would come forward. Under the circumstances, I'm going to ask Tamika, Isaac Devine, if she and the other members of city council. I've already said you don't have to read it all week, but I wanted to present this and let you make this proclamation and make comments as well. I won't make a lot of comments. Felicia has read my comments. You know that we are here for an important lady when my judge agrees to stop court and allow me to come here for a little bit. But it is indeed an honor and privilege to be here. So it is our honor as the members of Columbia City Council, past and present and future to declare today. Judge Mildred Weathers McDuffie Way, this thousand block of King Street, which houses an amazing queen. Thank you so much. My name is Russ McCoy. I'm a board member of the Columbia Empowerment Zone. We want to thank the city and all of you for allowing us to participate in this occasion this morning. The Empowerment Zone is one of the many things that the judge has been involved in. And there's no way I can possibly summarize all of the things that she has done for the Empowerment Zone over 20 years, judge. She and I have served together for 20 years. She's been a mentor and a friend and an inspiration to all of us on the board, judge. And you know that. This is a great honor for her and a fitting honor. I think she's deserving of all we can say here this morning. And again, there's no way I can summarize what she has meant to the Empowerment Zone. Her leadership has been critical to our success over the years. And there's no way we'd be where we are today in the Empowerment Zone without her. So we want to thank you, judge. We want to congratulate you on this honor most deserved. And we love you. Good morning. Let your lights so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father, which is in heaven. Matthew chapter five verse 16, the King James Version. We, the members of the Weathers family are indeed delighted and grateful that the city of Columbia has chosen to honor this hour. Mildred Weathers, Mike Duffy. Our family stress the importance of education and commitment to community. Mildred always has been a diligent worker who loves her family, her capital city, Columbia. And we are indeed proud that the city of Columbia and others have chosen to again honor her. Being the oldest of 23 grands and she lets everybody knows now she is the oldest of the 23 grands. I'm in the middle there somewhere. She consistently led by example online car. Get up, get me some water. Fix my food. And we had to follow. Mildred is also a diligent, diligent church worker. And her students honored her, her family honored her. And we take this opportunity to thank her for all that she has done for our family. So today we celebrate this moment with you Mildred. May the work you've done speak for you. Okay. May the life you've lived speak for you. And may the service that you have given to everybody speak for you. Mildred, Weathers, Mike Duffy. We love you dearly. Thank you. So Felicia says, oh, you know you're on the program, right? I said, no, I didn't know that, but that's the way it usually works around here. I just do what I'm told and I'm always on the perimeter. I want to also acknowledge I'm Teresa Wilson, city manager. And I want to make sure we acknowledge Allen University's president. I believe is here. Oh, Dr. McNeely. Okay, great. So in the spirit of all that has already been said, I am going to simply proclaim us all blessed to be in the spirit of this living angel. My mentor mother figure and friend. And in the spirit of what she would have me to do, we will not belabor it any further. We are going to unveil the street naming as Judge Mildred, Mike Duffy, Judge Mildred, Weathers, Mike Duffy way. I don't have it in front of me, but we'll be doing that next. And you know, I love you and take every honor and privilege to give you your flowers while you are with us. And they are so richly due to you. Thank you, Judge.