Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay special recognition to Robert C. Davidson, Jr. upon being named recipient of Morehouse College's Bennie Leadership Award for the year 2007.
Robert Davidson's long and distinguished career began in the late 1960s, when he began as a Management Consultant with the New York-based Cresap, McCormick and Paget. Robert later moved to Boston, where he cofounded and served as Vice President of the Urban National Corporation, a private venture capital company established with a commitment to increase industry's investment in minority-controlled businesses.
Mr. Davidson's entrepreneurial spirit continued as he served as Chief Executive Officer of Avant Garde Enterprises, and it later led him to develop and head his own management and consulting firm. In 1978, Robert formed Surface Protection Industries, Inc. (SPI) and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, SPI developed into one of California's leading African-American-owned manufacturing companies.
Robert Davidson has a strong commitment to community involvement and voluntary service. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for the following organizations: Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia; Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. (NYSE); Broadway Federal Bank (NASDAQ); Fulcrum Venture Capital Corporation; Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business Advisory Council; Art Center College of Design in Pasadena; the South Coast Air Quality Management District Brain Tumor and Air Pollution Foundation; and the Los Angeles Urban League.
Prior board affiliations include Children's Hospital of Los Angeles; Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; Rebuild LA; Museum of Contemporary Art; Charles Drew University School of Medicine; Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena; Shaare Zedek Medical Center Jerusalem; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Falcon Cable Community Ventures; the African/American Museum of Art; the Black-Jewish Economic Development Committee of Los Angeles; Big Brothers of Greater Los Angeles; the Weingart Center for the Homeless; and the Planning Commission for the City of Pasadena.
Mr. Davidson lives in Pasadena with his wife Faye and their three sons, Robert III, John Roderick, and Julian.
I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring an outstanding individual of California's 29th Congressional District, Robert C. Davidson, Jr. The entire community joins me in thanking Robert for his success and continued efforts toward making the 29th Congressional District a better place in which to live and work.