[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E616-E617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HONORING O.D. McKEE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ZACH WAMP

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2001

  Mr. WAMP. Mr. Speaker, Many folks would have turned a little faint at 
the thought of trying to start a business during the depths of the 
Great Depression in the 1930s.
  But not O.D. McKee.
  ``O.D.,'' as he was known to his many friends and admirers, believed 
that he could be successful in the baking business. And he and his 
wife, Ruth, were not afraid to work hard.
  Together they built a small bakery into a giant business with 5,000 
employees and plants in three states. I am proud that O.D. and Ruth 
McKee, who died in 1995 and 1989, were citizens of the 3 rd District of 
Tennessee. And I am very thankful that their company, McKee Foods 
Corporation, headquartered in Collegedale, TN, near Chattanooga, 
continues to be an important and vibrant corporate citizen of the 3 rd 
District.
  It is entirely fitting that the company has dedicated the O.D. McKee 
Conference Room at the company's plant in Collegedale.
  The McKees and their family typify the values of people who are 
successful as business leaders--and human beings--in America. They had 
dreams, drive and determination as they built McKee Foods and its 
``Little Debbie'' Snack cakes and other products into internationally 
recognized symbols of quality.
  In the early years, the company operated out of a plant on Main 
Street in Chattanooga. But later, the McKees sold out and moved to 
Charlotte,
  Their operations were--and are--a model for what a good company 
should be. O.D. and

[[Page E617]]

Ruth were true partners in the business. He supplied the vision and 
sales skills that helped to build the company. She contributed down-to-
earth, practical business sense, managing many aspects of the bakery's 
operations, particularly in the early years. At a time when this kind 
of arrangement was not very common in American business, they drew 
equal salaries. Today, their company continues to be based on trust and 
mutual respect among all employees. It is a major part of the economy 
in Southeast Tennessee. In addition to the facility in Collegedale, it 
has plants in Apison, Tenn.; Gentry, Ark., and Stuarts Draft, Va., and 
markets its products in all 50 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and U.S. 
military bases worldwide.
  Truly, it is fitting that we pause to honor O.D. McKee and the 
wonderful legacy he and his wife, Ruth, built.

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