[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S6469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       TRIBUTE TO AVIS B. BAILEY

 Mr. BUMPERS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
fellow Arkansan, Avis B. Bailey. Avis is the owner of Avis Nissan in 
Fayetteville, and I am proud to say, was honored last week by the U.S. 
Small Business Administration as the 1995 Arkansas Small Business 
Person of the Year. I had a chance to visit with Avis and her husband 
last week on the Capitol steps, and I was immediately convinced that 
this honor is richly deserved.
  Avis Bailey was born and raised in Prairie Grove, AR. The youngest of 
six, she married right out of high school and then moved with her 
husband to Tulsa, OK. Twelve years later and a single parent, she 
returned to northwest Arkansas and settled in Fayetteville, where she 
worked in her brother's transmission repair shop. In 1971, Avis took 
another job as a cashier at Hatfield Pontiac and Cadillac, one of 
Arkansas' oldest and most respected Cadillac dealerships. This became 
job No. 3 for her. However, in less than 2 years Avis was out from 
behind the cashier's desk crunching numbers and in the showroom selling 
Cadillacs. It was not long before she became one of the State's top 
salespersons for automobiles and, within 10 years, manager of the 
dealership.
  Avis told me she could remember when new Cadillacs started selling 
for over $10,000. It was at that time that her father told her she 
needed to get out of the business. He said no one would pay that much 
for a car. Mr. President, 20-some-odds years and many success stories 
later, Avis B. Bailey bought that Pontiac-Cadillac dealership where she 
started as a cashier. I know many people who still dream of owning a 
Cadillac someday, and here is Avis with a whole parking lot full. Her 
whole career is a testament to what hard work and dedication can 
accomplish. She has truly risen through the ranks of the small business 
world.
  In 1991, Avis bought a Nissan dealership that was nearly bankrupt. 
Its standing in the community was down, but Avis took the initiative 
and the gamble to take that failing business and turn it around. Within 
3 years, she more than doubled the volume of sales and her number of 
employees. Sales totaled $11.7 million in 1994 for Avis Nissan. Avis 
and her partners have also bought four more automobile dealerships in 
Arkansas, adding both to the economy and to the community. She and her 
partners are now owners of Mazda and Ford dealerships in northwest 
Arkansas as well.
  Mr. President, we need more people like Avis Bailey in this country. 
She is more than a shrewd business woman. She is filled with a spirit 
that can make a difference. Avis avidly supports the athletic programs 
of the University of Arkansas, she is a member of both the Fayetteville 
and Springdale Chamber of Commerce, and she's a friend to area grade 
schools, working to furnish school supplies and clothing. We need more 
people who aren't afraid to roll up their sleeves, work hard, and make 
a difference in their communities. Mr. President, I hope you will join 
me in congratulating Avis Bailey on being named the Arkansas Small 
Business Person of the Year for 1995.


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