[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E2032]]


                    IN HONOR OF ROBERTO C. GOIZUETA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NEWT GINGRICH

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 21, 1997

  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, today I join my fellow Americans and 
citizens worldwide in celebrating the life of Roberto C. Goizueta, 
chairman and chief executive officer of Coca-Cola for the past 16 
years, who passed away on Saturday.
  Roberto embodied the American dream. Born the son of a sugar refinery 
owner in Havana, Cuba, he earned a chemical engineering degree from 
Yale University in 1953. The following year, he answered an anonymous 
ad in a Havana newspaper seeking a chemical engineer. That ad had been 
placed by the Coca-Cola Co. On the Fourth of July, 1954, he joined the 
company in Havana in the technical department.
  Prior to the Castro regime's confiscation of this Cuban Coca-Cola 
bottling plant, Roberto fled Cuba with his wife for the promise of a 
better life in America. Arriving in 1960, Roberto and his wife Olga 
came to America with only $40 and 100 shares of Coke stock. They lived 
in a Miami motel room with their three children.
  The most important thing that Roberto brought with him, however, was 
not material. It was a dream of a better life for himself and his 
family, coupled with a fierce determination and work ethic which made 
that dream a reality.
  Through hard work and determination, Roberto worked his way up the 
corporate ladder, becoming chief executive officer in 1981. During his 
tenure as chief executive, Coke's sales more than tripled and profits 
increased sevenfold, reaching $3.5 billion last year. During the same 
time, Coca-Cola's market value skyrocketed, from $4 billion in 1981 to 
nearly $150 billion today.
  Under Roberto's bold leadership, Coca-Cola introduced diet Coke, 
increased global share of sales from 35 percent to 48 percent, and 
contributed nearly $100 million to education initiatives around the 
world.
  In addition to his outstanding business acumen and dedication to 
community service, Roberto was also a kind-hearted humanitarian who 
created the Goizueta Foundation, a charitable organization committed to 
meeting the needs of families by assisting institutions that serve 
children, support families at risk, and further educational 
opportunities.
  Coca-Cola has been named ``America's Most Admired Corporation'' for 
the past 2 years in a survey conducted by Fortune Magazine. That 
outstanding achievement was due in no small part to Roberto's steadfast 
character and leadership.
  To further illustrate the work ethic and character of this great man 
who lived the American dream to the fullest, I would like to conclude 
by submitting into the Record excerpts from a speech Roberto delivered 
in 1995 on the ``Four Obligations of Opportunity.'' I commend his 
advice to all of my colleagues.
  Roberto's vision led Coca-Cola to worldwide leadership and created a 
new standard for corporate excellence on both the national and world 
level. He will be missed as a businessman, a citizen, and as a friend.

        ``Opportunity Always Comes Accompanied by Obligations''

(Robert C. Goizueta wrote his own speeches. This is an excerpt from one 
 he gave on July 4, 1995, when he administered the oath of citizenship 
    to 67 new Americans at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate in 
     Virginia. It summarizes some of his most deeply held beliefs.)

       For me, looking into your eyes this morning is like looking 
     into a mirror . . . a mirror that takes me back 26 years . . 
     . back to a hot, muggy day in 1969 at the Federal Building in 
     Atlanta, Georgia. Together, we share a truly magical gift . . 
     . the magical gift of freedom . . . and with it, its 
     corollary we refer to as ``opportunity.''
       When my family and I came to this country, we had to leave 
     everything behind. Back in Havana, our family photographs 
     hung on the wall. Our wedding gifts sat on the shelves. Every 
     material property we owned . . . overnight became government 
     property.
       But amid this turmoil, two treasured possessions remained 
     mine because they simply could not be taken away by the newly 
     arrived Cuban rulers.
       Firstly, even though I had to leave behind my diploma from 
     Yale . . . and even though I had to leave behind the 
     specially engraved dictionary I earned as valedictorian of my 
     high school graduating class . . . I carried with me, safely 
     in my head, the meaning of that diploma and of that 
     dictionary. I still had my education.
       And, secondly, even though the Havana Coca-Cola bottling 
     plant where I had worked was to be confiscated, I still had a 
     job. And it wasn't just any job. It was a job with The Coca-
     Cola Co.
       From that point on--as you might guess--the story improves 
     significantly. And that story--my story--boils down to a 
     single, inspiring reality . . . the reality that a young 
     immigrant could come to this country, be given a chance to 
     work hard and apply his skills, and ultimately earn the 
     opportunity to lead not only a large corporation, but an 
     institution that actually symbolizes the very essence of 
     America and American ideals.
       Not a bad story . . . but what has it taught me? It has 
     taught me a great deal. But first and foremost, it has taught 
     me that opportunity always comes accompanied by obligations.
       The first obligation implied in opportunity is that you 
     must seize it . . . and mold it into a work that brings value 
     to your society.
       To do otherwise is not just a waste . . . it is a crime 
     against the human spirit. Squandering what the rest of the 
     world covets is not only foolish . . . it is immoral.
       The second obligation that naturally follows opportunity is 
     that you must live it . . . you must carry it on your back 
     all day long . . . you must sense the opportunity in your 
     nostrils with every breath, and you must see it in your 
     dreams when you are asleep.
       Because even though opportunity--much like freedom itself--
     is born only out of ideals . . . it is nurtured only by 
     action. Without action, opportunity and freedom soon shrivel 
     and fade to a slow death.
       Finally, the third obligation that inherently comes with 
     opportunity is that you must defend it. Thomas Jefferson 
     said, ``The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to 
     time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.''
       But the tree of liberty must also be irrigated--irrigated 
     every single day--with the sweat off the brows of 
     enterprising men and women . . . men and women working hard 
     to further prove the inherent superiority of a democratic 
     society . . . working hard to demonstrate the lasting 
     stability of a democratic capitalistic system . . . working 
     hard to preserve the sanctity of private property . . . 
     working hard to continue to show the world that people can 
     indeed be trusted with governing themselves.
       And so, I challenge you and every other citizen across our 
     nation--whether native born or naturalized--to embrace your 
     individual obligations . . . to embrace your individual 
     obligations as if the fate of the United States depended on 
     it.
       And you know why? Because--in reality--it does.

       

                          ____________________