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Letter to the editor

Renaming honors city leader, pastor and friend

By JON WILSON
Published June 17, 2007

People smile when they recall the late Rev. J.W. Cate Jr.

A City Council member for 20 years, Cate was a mentor to city leaders, friends, church members and, at times, young reporters covering the City Hall beat.

Tuesday, some of those leaders and old friends will gather at 11 a.m. at the newly named J.W. Cate Recreation Center, just a few blocks from the clergyman's home and from Palm Lake Christian Church, where he was senior pastor from 1966 until 1999.

The public is invited to the ceremony, which will formalize the name change from Northwest Recreation Center. The center is at 5801 22nd Ave. N. Cate, often called "the dean of City Hall" and "the conscience of City Council, " died in 2004 at age 69.

Council member Herb Polson suggested the name at the request of District 1 residents, which Cate represented from 1971 until 1991.

Polson, who grew up in Holiday Park, said he honed his sports skills playing on the center's fields and courts. Later, as a city staff member, Polson recalled Cate as a guiding influence. "He was a great mentor for staff., " said Polson, who now represents District 1.

After his City Council service, Cate was on the St. Petersburg Housing Authority. He was chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Greater St. Petersburg Association of Clergymen and the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority, and president of the Neighborly Center. In 1991, Cate won the Liberty Bell Award for community service from the St. Petersburg Bar Association. In 1999, he received the Community Leadership Award from the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

[Last modified June 16, 2007, 21:12:25]