[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1732]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page E1732]]

  TRIBUTE TO JOHN E. ``JIMMY'' WILSON; SPIRIT OF AMERICA AWARD WINNER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. TERRY EVERETT

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 1997

  Mr. EVERETT. Mr. Speaker, I offer tribute today to an outstanding 
member of the Alabama business community whose labors have 
distinguished him before a national audience.
  I am speaking of Mr. John E. ``Jimmy'' Wilson of Luverne, AL, who was 
honored with the Spirit of America Award presented by the National 
Grocers Association of July 29, 1997.
  Mr. Wilson is in good company, joining the likes of President George 
Bush, Vice President Dan Quayle, and some 350 others who have all 
received the Spirit of America Award for support of America's 
independent grocers.
  Mr. Wilson has given much to this country. He served honorably in 
World War II, flying 65 bombing missions in the European theater with 
the 416 Bombardment Group, 9th Air Force, U.S. Army. His many military 
honors include the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving a fellow 
airman's life, the Air Medal with 11 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the 
Presidential Citation for Outstanding Work in Support of Ground Forces.
  His war service, combined with strong merchandising skills acquired 
as a part-time stock boy at T.W. Woolworth's in the early 1930's, 
served to propel Mr. Wilson toward a lifelong career as a successful 
businessman.
  Beginning in Pensacola and then moving to Montgomery, Mr. Wilson 
steadily climbed the ladder of the retail grocery business eventually 
acquiring his own store in Luverne, AL, in 1971. He branched out to 
include grocery businesses in Greenville in 1977 and in Ozark in 1985.
  I not only congratulate Mr. Jimmy Wilson on receiving the Spirit of 
America Award for 1997, but for inspiring so many by his example as a 
great American.

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