[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E556-E557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF OPPORTUNITY INC.

                                 ______


                        HON. JOHN EDWARD PORTER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 17, 1996

  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to recognize 
Opportunity, Inc., an outstanding organization located in Highland 
Park, IL.
  Opportunity, Inc. is a unique, not-for-profit contract manufacturer 
that employs 150 persons, 80 percent of whom have developmental, 
physical and/or emotional disabilities. Founded by local construction 
executive John Cornell in 1976, who still serves on the board of 
directors, the company will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on May 
7, 1996 at a benefit dinner to be held at the Hotel Nikko in Chicago, 
IL.
  The company's mission is twofold: First, to provide a mainstream 
plant environment in which handicapable persons can work and earn a 
paycheck along with the dignity that comes from being employed 
productively on a full-time basis; and second, to provide its private 
sector customers with the best possible quality, price, and service.
  In this age of fiscal restraint, Opportunity, Inc. stands as an 
outstanding example of how to accomplish an important social mission 
without using any Government subsidies. The key to the company's 
success is its determination to compete for business strictly on the 
basis of quality, price, and service.
  Mr. Speaker, Opportunity, Inc. has demonstrated how competitive and 
productive handicapable employees can be. Opportunity, Inc. built and 
continues to operate the only not-for-profit, certified class ``clean 
room'' for medical and surgical packaging in the country. So stringent 
is Opportunity's commitment to quality that it has not had a lot 
rejected by its major medical/surgical customer--Baxter International--
for more than 6 years.

  Most important of all, however, is the pride of workmanship that you 
sense when you visit Opportunity, Inc. During a recent visit, I 
experienced firsthand how dedicated and competitive these employees are 
about their work. One man in his thirties said it best of all: 
``Congressman, all we need is a fair chance to compete. That's what we 
get here at Opportunity and just look at the results.''
  I am pleased to send congratulations to the employees, management and 
directors of Opportunity, Inc. on the occasion of this remarkable 
company's 20th anniversary, along with best wishes for their continued 
success into the next century. I also commend Opportunity, Inc. as a 
worthy example to my colleagues, who believe, as I do, that we must 
look to the private sector and to the local level for alternative 
solutions to difficult social problems

[[Page E557]]

such as unemployment among those with disabilities.

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