--- title: SR 1039. 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration by the Daughters of Mary Magdalene; recognize; Sims, Melonie; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr1039 cite_as: SR 1039, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1039 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1039.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1039/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74435 date: 2026-03-27 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1038.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1040.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1039.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 1039 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-27 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Derek Mallow text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR1039/2025 upstream_id: 2138418 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Juneteenth - Savannah community - legislative commendation - Georgia Senate resolution --- # SR 1039. 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration by the Daughters of Mary Magdalene; recognize; Sims, Melonie; commend ## Text Senate Resolution 1039 By: Senator Mallow of the 2nd A RESOLUTION Recognizing the 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration by the Daughters of Mary Magdalene and commending Melonie Sims; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and emphasizes cultural pride through events inspired by recollections of our ancestors' and grandparents' struggles against slavery and segregation, and their fight for freedom, dignity, justice, and equality for generations to come; and WHEREAS, the Daughters of Mary Magdalene is a nonprofit community organization that serves areas lacking economic, social, and cultural resources by offering educational materials, mentoring, and oral history griots to motivate and help uplift people to reach their full potential; and WHEREAS, the theme for this year's Juneteenth celebration is, "Rebuild, Reconstruct and Re-Educate!"; and WHEREAS, one of the highlights of the Juneteenth celebration is the Honorees Program, which recognizes ordinary people who exemplify extraordinary character and dedicate their life's work to helping and benefitting children, young adults, and others throughout the community; and WHEREAS, Melonie Sims is being recognized as a 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Honoree; and WHEREAS, Melonie is a Savannah native. She attended the public school system and is 1985 graduate of Savannah High School. She later moved to Long Island, New York and earned certification as a nurses aid; and WHEREAS, Melonie finds her calling to be in service to her church and community, originally as a member of St. John Divine Baptist Church where her daughter was baptized and she served as the Youth Choir leader; and WHEREAS, currently Melonie is a member of Resurrection Pentecostal Temple where she sings in the choir, works with the kitchen ministry, serves as program announcer, presenter and reporter, and she also accompanies the Temple's Prophetess leader as she ministers to others throughout the city; and WHEREAS, Melonie considers the best jobs she's ever had to be mother to her daughter Nefra Payne, and grandmother to Elijah Payne; and WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper to recognize the Daughters of Mary Magdalene for presenting the longest-serving Juneteenth celebration in Savannah, of more than 23 years, and commend Melonie Sims as a 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Honoree. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize and commend the Daughters of Mary Magdalene and Melonie Sims. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the Daughters of Mary Magdalene and Melonie Sims. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate resolution recognizes the Daughters of Mary Magdalene's 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration in Savannah and commends Melonie Sims as a 2026 celebration honoree. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution from the Georgia Senate, not a change to state law. It honors the Daughters of Mary Magdalene, a Savannah nonprofit that has held Juneteenth celebrations for more than 23 years, making it the longest-running Juneteenth celebration in the city. The resolution also commends Melonie Sims, a Savannah native and community volunteer, as a 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Honoree. The text describes the group's mission of offering educational materials, mentoring, and oral history programs, and this year's celebration theme, 'Rebuild, Reconstruct and Re-Educate!' It recounts Sims's background, including her church and community service, and directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies of the resolution to the organization and to Sims. ### What it does - Formally recognizes the Daughters of Mary Magdalene for organizing Savannah's 23rd Annual Juneteenth Celebration. - Commends Melonie Sims by name as a 2026 Juneteenth Celebration Honoree for her community and church service. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to the organization and to Sims. - Creates no new law, funding, or penalty; it is a symbolic statement of recognition by the Senate. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Daughters of Mary Magdalene, a Savannah nonprofit, and Melonie Sims, a community volunteer being honored. It has no broader legal effect on other Georgians or institutions. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no legal or financial consequences; its significance is symbolic, giving official Senate recognition to a long-running community celebration and to an individual volunteer's local service, which can be preserved and shared as a formal honor. ### Key provisions - The resolution's preamble explains Juneteenth's historical significance and the mission of the Daughters of Mary Magdalene nonprofit. - It states the resolution language recognizing and commending both the organization and Melonie Sims. - It directs the Secretary of the Senate to make copies available for distribution to the honorees. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-27) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2026-03-27) - Sponsors: Derek Mallow - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74435 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr1039.md?full=1