[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 19 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E227-E228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MR. BOB POTTER

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. C.L. ``BUTCH'' OTTER

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2002

  Mr. OTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the 
House the distinguished accomplishments of Mr. Bob Potter of Hayden 
Lake, Idaho. Bob has been the President of Jobs Plus in Coeur d' Alene 
since the organization's inception 15 years ago. Known affectionately 
as ``Mr. Jobs Plus'', Bob's mission is to create investment and bring 
new jobs and companies to the Coeur d' Alene area. I'm pleased to 
report his mission is a success. Bob Potter is a great salesman for 
Northern Idaho, and he recruits companies with good benefits programs 
for their employees in addition to providing a decent wage. As a rule, 
when Bob successfully recruits a new company, the average annual wage 
in Kootenai County increases. The benefit of Jobs Plus and Bob Potter 
is seen in the numbers: 74 companies recruited; 3,780 jobs created; $85 
million in new payroll. It is the tireless dedication of people like 
Mr. Potter that keep our local economies growing and diversifying. Bob 
Potter's hard work and sense of community should serve as an 
inspiration to us all, and I thank him for all he has done for Idaho 
and the nation.

                       Bob Potter: Mr. Jobs Plus


                    Retirement doesn't suit salesman

                            (By Bill Buley)

       At the end of each year, Jobs Plus President Bob Potter 
     visits companies he's recruited to the area since the 
     organization was formed 15 years ago.
       The numbers tell the story.
       In 2001: 74 companies; 3,780 jobs, $85 million in payroll; 
     $340 million in capital investment; 2.4 million square feet 
     leased or owned; average wage, $26,300-plus.
       ``Those are the reasons Jobs Plus is damn important,'' he 
     says.
       But numbers don't tell the tale of Bob Potter.
       He comes across initially, quite frankly, as a grumpy old 
     man.
       He's anything but.
       Before the interview even begins, he grabs a putter resting 
     against a wall just outside his office at the Resort Plaza, 
     picks up a golf ball, and walks about 10 feet from the 
     practice hole.
       ``Watch,'' he says.
       A moment later, in a smooth motion, he strokes the ball.
       It seems to be going left. It's going to miss.
       Then, it begins to break, curving back.
       It drops in the target.
       He knew.
       ``I've won a lot of bets on that,'' he says with a grin.
       Potter glows when he speaks of his wife Patricia, whom he 
     married 49 years ago on Valentine's Day.
       He smiles as he boasts of their daughter Pam, a teacher in 
     Olympia, Wash., and their son Bo, a Notre Dame graduate who 
     today sells medical insurance in Los Angeles.
       Potter, by the way, is a huge fan of the Fighting Irish. He 
     anguishes over the foot-ball team's misfortunes and hopes for 
     another national championship soon.

[[Page E228]]

       His son was the roommate of Rudy Ruettiger, whose drive to 
     play football for Notre Dame resulted in the movie, ``Rudy.''
       ``I knew Rudy really well, in fact he still visits Bo a lot 
     and stays at our house in Los Angeles when he's down there,'' 
     Potter said.
       Still, to many in North Idaho, Bob Potter is Mr. Job Plus.
       The two seem synonymous.
       But a parting might not be far off.
       Potter says he can't continue forever in the $60,000-a-
     year-job--the same as when he started in 1987.
       ``I am 74 years old. Sooner or later, the Jobs Plus board 
     of directors is going to have to face up to the fact that 
     we're going to have to take Jobs Plus into the next phase.''
       That phase will lead to Jobs Plus II.
       ``We've been doing this with mirrors. Our costs are stable 
     and low. I don't need a medical plan (he has one already). 
     I've never taken a raise. Jobs Plus II isn't going to be that 
     fortunate. Those days are going to be over, probably in the 
     next transition. It's going to cost us more to run Jobs Plus 
     in the future than it is now.''
       So Potter, as usual, has a plan.
       He'll make a presentation to Kootenai County Commissioners 
     Tuesday that the county should--like the cities of Coeur 
     d'Alene, Hayden, Rathdrum and Post Falls and about 100 other 
     businesses--support Jobs Plus, which operates on a modest 
     budget of $200,000.
       That, Potter said, is far less than what similar 
     organizations in other areas work with.
       ``The county hasn't had to invest in to produce the 
     millions of dollars that we've created in property tax. We 
     feel that Jobs Plus is an investment and we can prove it 
     because we've got the numbers.''
       Potter was born in Utah. He graduated from the University 
     of Utah with a degree in political science.
       For 35 years, he worked his way up the corporate ladder 
     with the Bell system, AT&T, eventually becoming vice 
     president of sales for the western region.
       When Potter quit and moved to North Idaho and bought a home 
     on Hayden Lake, the economy was struggling.
       Community business leaders including Jacklin Land Company, 
     then Washington Water Power, Dennis Wheeler from Coeur 
     d'Alene Mines, and Duane Hagadone, at the time were in the 
     midst of raising $1 million for a four-year program that 
     would focus on expanding the area's economy and employment 
     base.
       After interviewing hundreds of candidates from across the 
     nation, they found no one they believed right for the job.
       Then, a headhunter suggested the person they were looking 
     for was in their own back yard.
       He was.

       

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