Bill Text: PA HR172 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizing April 9, 2011, as "Martha Dixon Day" in Pennsylvania, to honor the life of FBI Special Agent Martha Dixon.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 22-14)

Status: (Passed) 2011-04-04 - Adopted (196-0) [HR172 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-HR172-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1377
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 172 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY M. SMITH, MAHER, BRADFORD, CALTAGIRONE, D. COSTA, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, EVERETT, FLECK, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRELL, HENNESSEY, HESS, KORTZ, KULA, MAJOR, MANN, MILLARD, MOUL, MUSTIO, QUINN, READSHAW, ROCK, ROSS, SCAVELLO, SWANGER, VEREB, VULAKOVICH AND WAGNER, APRIL 1, 2011
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, APRIL 1, 2011
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing April 9, 2011, as "Martha Dixon Day" in
Pennsylvania, to honor the life of FBI Special Agent Martha
Dixon.
WHEREAS, Martha Dixon was born January 10, 1959, in Mount
Lebanon, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon graduated from Mount Lebanon High School
in 1977; and
WHEREAS, She continued her education at the University of
Pittsburgh, from which she graduated in 1982 with a degree in
chemistry; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon began her professional career in Little
Rock, Arkansas, at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory where she
worked as a forensic chemist analyzing crime scenes and
providing expert testimony on behalf of the State of Arkansas;
and
WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon became an agent of the Federal Bureau of
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Investigation (FBI) in 1987; and
WHEREAS, She was then assigned to the Knoxville, Tennessee,
FBI Field Office, where, among other assignments, she negotiated
and resolved the uprising at the Talladega Federal Correctional
Institution in August 1991; and
WHEREAS, Her participation in this event and successful
forced entry into the prison, which had been overtaken by
prisoners, returned control to prison officials, for which she
was decorated for her bravery; and
WHEREAS, In 1992, Ms. Dixon was transferred from the
Knoxville field office to the Washington, D.C. Main Field Office
of the FBI (WMFO), and assigned to the Cold Case Homicide Task
Force to assist the Washington, D.C. Metro Police Force in
determining unsolved crimes; and
WHEREAS, On November 22, 1994, Special Agent Dixon made the
ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the FBI as she responded to
gunfire in the Cold Case Division area of the WMFO; and
WHEREAS, By injuring the perpetrator, Ms. Dixon prevented the
possibility of an even greater loss of human life and injury to
fellow law enforcement agents and civilians within the building;
and
WHEREAS, Ms. Dixon has been awarded several honors, including
the FBI Memorial Star, the FBI Commendation for Meritorious
Service, the FBI Medal of Valor, the Michael John Buczek Medal
of Honor, the FBI Agents Association's J. Edgar Hoover Memorial
Award for Valor, the Attorney General's Award for Bravery, the
naming of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office in her honor,
recognition on numerous memorial plaques and the 2006
Outstanding Mount Lebanon High School Alumni Award; and
WHEREAS, In memory of Ms. Dixon, her family initiated the
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Martha Fund; and
WHEREAS, The largest fundraiser for the Martha Fund is
"Martha's Run," which is an event exemplifying Ms. Dixon's love
of running, and the 2011 "Martha's Run" is scheduled for April
9, 2011; and
WHEREAS, Donations to the Martha Fund are used to build or
renovate and maintain playgrounds, and to date three public
playgrounds have been erected in her honor, including Martha's
Playground in Mount Lebanon; and
WHEREAS, Martha was the proud aunt to several nieces and
nephews and loved watching them play; and
WHEREAS, These playgrounds offer children a safe place to
play; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize April
9, 2011, as "Martha Dixon Day" in Pennsylvania, to honor the
life of this brave woman who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the
service to and protection of others.
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