Mr. Speaker: I rise today to honor the life and legacy of an outstanding leader of the Tampa Bay community, Dottie Berger MacKinnon. Her tireless crusade to better the lives of neglected and abused children is an inspiration to the Tampa Bay community and to this great nation.

Among Mrs. Berger MacKinnon’s numerous accomplishments is her work in founding charities that support needy children. In 1992, Mrs. Berger MacKinnon led a community effort to found Joshua House, a kid’s shelter in the Tampa Bay area which now handles children ages 7 to 17 who have been removed from their homes. Never tiring of making a positive difference, Mrs. Berger MacKinnon worked to found Kid’s Charity of Tampa Bay in 2006. Kid’s Charity also manages A Kid’s Place, a 60-bed emergency shelter for children waiting to be placed with a foster family. Mrs. Berger MacKinnon’s visionary leadership resulted in raising $5 million for A Kid’s Place to build an amazing facility that now has helped more than 700 abused, abandoned and neglected children. 

A native of Kentucky, Berger MacKinnon had an early passion for politics that led her to move at age 15 to live with an aunt on the outskirts of Washington. She later moved to Tampa where she earned a B.A. in political science in 1984 from the University of South Florida. She joined the Gulf Coast Division for the Children’s Home Society of Florida in 1985 where she served as one of its State Board members.

Mrs. Berger MacKinnon won a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission in 1994 and went on to become chairman from 1996 to 1997. On the Commission, she continued to fight for abused and neglected children. Mrs. Berger MacKinnon served on the Hillsborough County Hospital Authority, as well as three terms on Tampa General Hospital's governing board. Here, she was instrumental in its transformation into a not-for-profit institution. Mrs. Berger MacKinnon was inducted into the Hillsborough County Women’s Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Mrs. Berger MacKinnon was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 and unfortunately passed away this October. Through her brave battle with cancer, Mrs. Berger MacKinnon was an inspiration to others who are fighting this devastating disease. To carry on her tenacious spirit and honor her legacy, I introduced the Eliminating Disparities in Breast Cancer Treatment Act. This Act will help ensure greater access to cancer treatment for women across the nation. Mr. Speaker, today on behalf of the many people who have been inspired by her diligent efforts and for the thousands of children whose lives are forever bettered by her never-ending generosity, we salute and thank Dottie Berger MacKinnon.