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RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO CO-DESIGNATE SW 87TH AVENUE FROM SW 8TH STREET TO SW 24TH STREET AS �REV. JORGE COMESA�AS WAY�

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WHEREAS, Reverend Jorge Comesa�as was born on April 18, 1940 in San Miguel del Padr�n, Habana, Cuba; and
WHEREAS, in 1959, Reverend Comesa�as entered the seminary at �Seminario Bautista de Cuba Occidental� and thereafter began a mission in the town of Buenavista, Habana, Cuba; and
WHEREAS, on November 25, 1963, Reverend Comesa�as was ordained as a pastor, and
on December 16, 1963, Reverend Comesa�as married Carmen Figueroa; and
WHEREAS, on December 13, 1965, Reverend Comesa�as sent his wife and son to the U.S. to live with family in Sarasota, Florida, while he stayed in Cuba, having been prohibited by the Cuban government from leaving; and
WHEREAS, from December 1965 to 1968, Reverend Comesa�as was the interim pastor at four different churches at the same time because the Castro regime incarcerated the pastors of these churches; and
WHEREAS, in January 1968, Reverend Comesa�as arrived in the U.S. to join his family, and began serving as a missionary from Naples to Sarasota for the Home Mission Board, Baptist Convention; and
WHEREAS, in June 1970, Reverend Comesa�as moved to Decatur, Georgia, and became pastor to a Spanish mission that later established a church in Atlanta, Georgia called �Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana�; and
WHEREAS, from 1976 to 1979, Reverend Comesa�as served as pastor to �Iglesia Bautista Resurrecci�n� in Bergenfield, New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, from 1979 to 1982, Reverend Comesa�as served as pastor to a Spanish mission that later established a church in Jacksonville, Florida; and
WHEREAS, on July 11, 1982, Reverend Comesa�as returned to Miami and became pastor at �Primera Iglesia Bautista de Coral Park�; and
WHEREAS, under the leadership of Reverend Comesa�as, the First Baptist Church of Coral Park grew over the following three decades such that by 2009, it had eight (8) pastors, three (3) locations and a budget close to $2 million; helped with missions in many countries including Nicaragua, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico and Guatemala, as well as countries in the Middle East, and provided a Christian Learning Center that included a daycare and an elementary school with 30 teachers and 210 students; and
WHEREAS, on August 20, 2009, Reverend Comesa�as retired, but then shortly thereafter, a church in Hialeah Gardens, �Nuevo Amanecer�, was in need of a pastor and Reverend Comesa�as agreed to become that church�s interim pastor; and
WHEREAS, in January 2010, �Nuevo Amanecer� united with First Baptist Church of Hialeah Gardens and moved to 13090 NW 107th Avenue with Reverend Comesa�as as its pastor; and

WHEREAS, in April 2010, Reverend Comesa�as was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and underwent surgery, with radiation and chemotherapy thereafter, but Reverend Comesa�as nonetheless continues his life�s work; and
WHEREAS, SW 87th Avenue from SW 8th Street to SW 24th Street is a state road located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, this Board would like to recognize the contributions Reverend Comesa�as has made to this community by urging the Florida Legislature to co-designate SW 87th Avenue from SW 8th Street to SW 24th Street as �Rev. Jorge Comesa�as Way�; and
WHEREAS, this proposed co-designation is located in County Commission District 10,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to co-designate SW 87th Avenue from SW 8th Street to SW 24th Street as �Rev. Jorge Comesa�as Way�.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit certified copies of the resolution to the Governor, the Senate President, the House Speaker, and the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation.
Section 3. Directs the County�s state lobbyists to advocate for the issue identified in Section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2011 state legislative package.