Allen, Lecester "Bill"; condolences

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Viola Davis and 2 co-sponsors

Honors the life and contributions of Lecester “Bill” Allen and memorializes his impact on education, minority entrepreneurship, and community development.

House Read and Adopted

What the measure does (purpose)

H.R. 614 is a ceremonial House resolution honoring the life and public contributions of Lecester “Bill” Allen. It expresses the House’s condolences on his passing, recounts key accomplishments from his biography, and directs the Clerk of the House to provide an appropriate copy of the resolution to Mr. Allen’s family.

Key provisions and language

Formally honors the life and memory of Lecester “Bill” Allen and expresses “deepest and most sincere regret at his passing.”

Summarizes Allen’s life and accomplishments, including:

Education at Wayne State University and early career as a teacher in the Detroit Public Schools.
Entrepreneurial activities with his wife Mattie: starting a daycare business that expanded to 14 locations and later K–12 private schools (first high school graduating class in 1988).
Conversion of four schools to charter status by 1994 and expansion across the U.S., serving over 12,000 students at 30 locations in more than 20 cities and seven states (through for‑profit and 501(c)(3) entities).
Creation of the Allen Entrepreneurial Institute (AEI) at Camp Exposure (a 150‑acre complex in Stonecrest, Georgia) and associated facilities, plus AEI StartUp Factory established in 2017.
AEI’s outreach: educating over 10,000 K–12 students and entrepreneurs, engagement with HBCUs and entrepreneurs from many African countries.

Directs the Clerk of the House to make and distribute an appropriate copy to the family.

Affected parties and impact

Primarily symbolic: the resolution recognizes and memorializes Mr. Allen and his family, celebrates community contributions, and has no regulatory, fiscal, or binding legal effect.

Honors Mr. Allen’s impact on education, minority/women‑owned business support, and community development (notably in Stonecrest, GA).

Procedural history / timeline

Introduced: January 22, 2025.

Referred: House Committee on Energy and Commerce (per record).

Placed on Congressional/House congrats & memorial calendar and laid before the House: April 17, 2025.

Adopted by the House: April 17, 2025 (record and nonrecord votes noted in the Journal).

Reported enrolled: April 21, 2025.

Sponsors listed: Josh Gottheimer (primary), Sandra Scott (primary), Viola Davis (primary), Kim Schofield (primary).

Notes and clarifications

H.R. 614 is a non‑binding, commemorative resolution (ceremonial in nature).

The resolution text included an unrelated line referencing the “Strengthening Awareness and Funding Education for Grilling Act (SAFE Grilling Act).” That language appears inconsistent with the remainder of the document, which is exclusively a memorial resolution for Lecester “Bill” Allen.

Bill