[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S6081]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: MR. 
                          THOMAS MICHAEL DUNN

 Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, it is with great pride that I 
stand before this body to congratulate yet another truly remarkable 
Missourian, Mr. Thomas Michael Dunn--the Small Business 
Administration's Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Dunn, at the age 
of 26, is the second Missourian to win a national award from the Small 
Business Administration this year.
  This young man's story is impressive. Tom began his lawn care 
business while still attending St. Louis University High School, and 
continued to operate his business during the summers while pursuing a 
double major in marketing and management at Indiana University. In his 
junior year of college, Tom began his first venture, operating a party 
favor franchise. By his senior year, the business was transformed into 
a flourishing million dollar industry.
  Beginning in 1994, Dunn Lawn and Land employed only two staff 
members, and had only two lawn mowers. By 1998, Dunn Lawn and Land 
employed over 22 employees, eight trucks, over 12 lawn machines and 
$1.2 million in revenue. Today, Dunn Lawn and Land offers a variety of 
services including lawn mowing, landscape bed and plant maintenance, 
lawn renovation, leaf removal, fertilizer and weed control, irrigation 
services and complete landscape design and installation.
  In addition to his thriving lawn maintenance business, Tom remains an 
active community leader. He has created the Impact Group of Cardinal 
Glennon Children's Hospital, which provides funds for special projects 
at the hospital.
  Mr. Dunn was selected for this prestigious award because of his 
extraordinary success as a small business owner and demonstrated 
entrepreneurial potential for long-term economic growth. The Young 
Entrepreneur of the Year award is part of the SBA's National Small 
Business Week celebration. This annual event is held in recognition of 
the nation's small business community's contributions to the American 
economy and society. Winners are selected on their record of stability, 
growth in employment and sales, sound financial status, innovation, 
ability to respond to adversity, and community service.
  It honors me to stand before you today to congratulate Mr. Dunn as 
the Small Business Administration's Young Entrepreneur of the Year. I 
envy Mr. Dunn's initiative, and am proud to say he is a Missourian. He 
is a role model for the children of the next generation, and is living 
proof that with hard work and dedication any one individual can succeed 
no matter how old they are. Mr. Dunn's success exemplifies the 
``American Dream,'' and what it means to be ``a man with a 
mission.''

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