[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 42 (Monday, April 18, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
TRIBUTE TO JOHN CULLEN AND BERNARD KENNEDY, RECIPIENTS OF THE 1994 LONG 
                   ISLAND ASSOCIATION MEDAL OF HONOR

                                 ______


                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 18, 1994

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to John Cullen 
and Bernard Kennedy, who will be honored by the Long Island Association 
with its 1994 Medal of Honor.
  The Long Island Association is the leading business and civic group 
for the Long Island region. It is also one of the largest business 
organizations in the country. The Medal of Honor is the association's 
highest award, and is presented once a year to individuals who 
distinguished themselves by significantly contributing to the lives of 
all of the residents of Long Island.
  John Cullen is chairman and chief executive officer, and Bernard 
Kennedy is president and chief operating officer, of King Kullen 
Grocery Co., the Nation's oldest supermarket chain. The King Kullen 
Grocery Co., which was founded in 1930 by Michael J. Cullen, has been 
recognized by the Smithsonian Institute as America's first supermarket. 
The company is family-owned and operated, and currently employs 4,500 
people at its 46 stores throughout Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and 
Richmond counties in New York.
  In 1930, founder Michael Cullen leased a vacant garage in Jamaica, 
Queens, and started the first supermarket. Immediately he 
revolutionized the retail food industry by allowing customers for the 
first time to obtain all their groceries from one store. Consumers no 
longer had to visit separate shops to obtain all their provisions. John 
Cullen and Bernard Kennedy continue this tradition today. They have 
also been major supporters of a wide variety of not-for-profit 
organizations and charities. Various Long Island hospitals, the Little 
Flower Children's Services of New York and the Family Service League of 
Nassau and Suffolk Counties are among the many organizations King 
Kullen supports through the leadership of John Cullen and Bernard 
Kennedy.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in the House of Representatives 
to join me in saluting these two fine philanthropists and 
entrepreneurs, John Cullen and Bernard Kennedy, for their outstanding 
contributions to the Long Island community, and to congratulate them on 
being awarded the Long Island Association's 1994 Medal of Honor.

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