Norton Says the District will Miss Butch Hopkins, Friend and Community Entrepreneur

WASHINGTON D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) issued the following statement today on learning of the passing of Albert "Butch" Hopkins, Jr., President and CEO of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation:

"With the passing of Butch Hopkins, I have lost a valued friend and the District of Columbia has lost a foremost leader for community economic development. Butch laid down his mark as a founder of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation and became a force for economic development in Ward 8 and citywide. He was a visionary who saw what Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Congress Heights could become, and before he passed, he saw it well on its way. We will particularly miss Butch Hopkins as the Department of Homeland Security headquarters takes shape in the heart of Ward 8, expected to bring commercial, retail, and mixed use development. As Butch's vision develops, this city will miss him even more. Butch's courageous fight against his illness was in keeping with the spirit and fearless determination with which he tackled his life's work for Congress Heights and Ward 8.