[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1365-S1366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TRIBUTE TO GERALD F. HAMRA

  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to pay 
tribute to a good friend and a favorite son of my home State of 
Arkansas. I am referring to Gerald ``Jerry'' Hamra, a man known as much 
for his charity and his devotion to family as he is for his success in 
the competitive world of fast-food franchising.
  Jerry Hamra grew up as the son of a clothing salesman in Steele, MO. 
He likes to joke about his upbringing and his Lebanese heritage by 
referring to himself as ``the rag merchant's son.'' Today, as chairman 
of the board and CEO of Wendy's of Little Rock, Inc., Jerry owns 33 
Wendy's hamburger franchises in Arkansas--not bad for a rag merchant's 
son.
  I once asked Jerry what led him to get into the hamburger business. 
He told me ``I didn't have any choice--I had just gone belly up in a 
swimming pool franchise business and I needed the work.'' That 
statement belies the savvy and business acumen that we in Arkansas have 
come to equate with Jerry Hamra.
  Jerry first came into Little Rock in 1974 and opened his first 
Arkansas-based Wendy's in 1975. It was the beginning of a remarkable 
success story. He has been recognized time and again by Wendy's 
International for his commitment to excellence. In 1990, he received 
the business' highest honor when he became the first franchisee to be 
inducted into the Wendy's Hall of Fame.
  Those of us who have known him for so long also know that the success 
of Jerry Hamra, the businessman, is directly linked to the life of 
Jerry Hamra, the human being. Jerry once told me that his priorities 
are ``God, 
[[Page S1366]] family, and then business--and business is way down on 
the list.'' His concern for people dictates his outlook on business. He 
is a big believer in hard work, and his pet peeves are a wrong order 
and an unclean facility. But on the opposite side, his favorite way of 
dealing with employees is to find a way to compliment them.
  Jerry is also known for his love of children--other people's as well 
as his own. Locally, he is what you might call the pied piper of 
hamburgers. He always carries coupons for free burgers in his back 
pocket and passes them out to children wherever he sees them. But he 
has also shown that generosity and compassion for children on a much 
larger scale. In 1987, Jerry donated and dedicated the therapeutic pool 
at Arkansas Children's Hospital, the only one of its kind in Arkansas. 
In 1992 he was named Citizen of the Year by the Arkansas chapter of the 
March of Dimes.
  Jerry Hamra is truly known in Arkansas as much for his benevolence 
and his many kindnesses to other people as he is for anything he has 
accomplished in the business world. He once told me he was so 
charitable because, as he put it, ``Arkansas has given me so much, I 
can never fully pay it back.'' Well, on behalf of all Arkansans, I want 
to tell Jerry how grateful we are that, 20 years ago, he chose Arkansas 
as his home. Jerry is currently battling cancer, and I want him to know 
that he and his fine family are very much in the thoughts of the Pryor 
family and of countless people across the State of Arkansas. I know my 
colleagues join me in wishing Jerry a speedy recovery and continued 
success.


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