State Senator Geraldine F. Thompson will be the featured speaker during the commemoration of Mother’s Day at Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 10:45 a.m. Senator Thompson will focus on Mothers preparing leaders.
Senator Thompson has held leadership roles in many arenas including education, business, civic affairs, cultural activities and politics. She credits her mother for giving her the foundation that allows her to contribute to her community, the state of Florida and the Nation.
Before entering politics, Geraldine F. Thompson was an educator in Orange County Schools and an administrator at Valencia College. At Valencia, she initiated the College Reach Out Program which allowed thousands of low-income students to receive a college education. As a community leader, she led efforts to preserve the former Wellsbuilt hotel and convert it into the Wells’Built Museum of African-American History and Culture. Geraldine F. Thompson was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2006 and the Florida Senate in 2012.
In the 2014 Legislative Session, Senator Thompson introduced legislation to expand Florida’s wrongful incarceration stature to allow Florida to compensate James Joseph Richardson who was wrongfully incarcerated in 1968 for allegedly killing his seven children. He spent over 21 years in prison and has never been compensated by the State for this injustice. Senator Thompson’s bill, SB 326 was one of the last pieces of legislation passed as the Legislation closed its session on Friday, May 2. She believes in the adage, “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree” and will share her insight on tools mothers can use to prepare the next generation of leaders.
Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist is located at 4077 Prince Hall Boulevard in Orlando, Florida.
Senator Geraldine F. Thompson is married to Judge Emerson R. Thompson, Jr. and she is the mother of three children: Laurise, Emerson, III and Elizabeth. She is the grandmother of Jasmyne, Imani, Kiera and Symone.
