[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 23, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 THE PASSING OF JOHN C. ``JACK'' RENNIE

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I speak today to pay tribute to the 
life of one of Massachusetts most prominent citizens and small business 
advocates, John C. ``Jack'' Rennie, who passed away last Monday, 
January 15th, at the age of 63. Jack was truly an extraordinary figure 
who changed the way American business looked at education, and the way 
education worked in Massachusetts.
  Born in Boston in May of 1937, Jack attended and graduated from the 
U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard School of Business. He later went on to 
earn a master's degree from Northeastern University.
  Using the skills he learned while serving in the Navy as a test 
pilot, and putting his business education and experience to good use, 
he founded Pacer Systems in 1968. Pacer Systems provided systems 
integration and product services for the Department of Defense (DoD). 
Pacer was later to become AverStar and expand its systems integration 
work beyond DoD to other Federal agencies. Jack served as Vice Chairman 
of AverStar from 1998 until his retirement in June of last year.
  His entrepreneurial spirit was not limited to his own company. In the 
mid-1970s, Jack was the driving force behind the creation of National 
Small Business United (NSBU), the nation's oldest bipartisan trade 
association for small businesses. In the early 1980s, Jack served as 
the President of the Small Business Association of New England (SBANE), 
and in 1983, he led the first all small business trade mission to the 
People's Republic of China. In 1983, he was also named the Small 
Business Person of the Year for Massachusetts and New England by then 
President Ronald Reagan.
  But despite all of these noteworthy accomplishments, Jack's most 
lasting achievements came in the area of education reform.
  As a business leader and entrepreneur, Jack was alarmed at the 
problems facing the public education system in Massachusetts and the 
nation. He knew that the businesses of tomorrow would demand a higher 
caliber of education from its employees, and that education was an 
integral part of America's future prosperity.
  Not one to sit on the sidelines, Jack combined his business expertise 
with his natural leadership abilities to found the Massachusetts 
Business Alliance for Education in 1988, which successfully led a five-
year effort to reform Massachusetts' K-12 education system. His 
organization's 1991 report, ``Every Child a Winner,'' was the impetus 
for the Massachusetts Education and Reform Act in 1993. This 
legislation led to new state-wide testing and accountability standards, 
as well as increased funding for education.
  Prominent small businessman, and executive, Navy veteran, education 
reformer and community leader, Jack Rennie's passing leaves a void few 
people are qualified to fill, and even fewer would attempt to try. On 
behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts, I would like to express our 
sincere condolences to Jack's family and friends.

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