[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 5 (Monday, January 26, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO JACK KAIN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Jack 
Kain, a successful Kentucky businessman and dedicated community member. 
For the past 50 years, Jack has built an award-winning car dealership 
empire in central Kentucky that generates more than $20 million in 
gross annual sales.
  What originally started out as a way to avoid milking cows has become 
a fifty-year passion for Jack Kain. In 1947, while a pre-law student at 
the University of Kentucky, Jack first delved into the world of car 
sales with the hopes of escaping work on the family dairy farm. For the 
next three years, he sold vehicles at the Harry Aldridge and Shug Glenn 
dealerships. He joined the Air Force in 1950 and served in Korea as a 
second lieutenant. Following his tour of duty, Jack returned to 
Kentucky with his late wife Kathy Webb and their daughter Becky. With 
some financial support from his father, Jack returned to car sales with 
the purchase of a DeSoto/Plymouth dealership in Frankfort. In 1960, he 
started selling Fords. While there have been some bumps on his road to 
success, Jack has continued to expand his dealership, which now employs 
50 people, including four of his nine children.
  Jack's business has received the Ford Motor Co. President's Award, a 
selective accolade bestowed upon dealerships with superb customer 
service. Less than one percent of the 5,000 Ford dealers nationwide 
receive this award. Stephen Lyons, the president of the Ford Division 
of the Ford Motor Company hails Jack as a ``master of customer 
service'' and a ``legend.'' Jack's dedication to customer satisfaction 
is illustrated in his frequent interaction with those who enter his 
dealership where he welcomes and thanks every customer. Whether he's 
helping Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher, Frankfort Mayor Bill May, or 
a lesser-known inhabitant of Woodford County, Jack treats all his 
customers with respect.
  Jack, who has nine children, twenty-one grandchildren, and three 
great-grandchildren, also stays active in the community. He has been a 
member of the Greater Lexington and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 
president of the Woodford County Chamber and he has served as director 
of St. Joseph Hospital. For the next couple of years, however, Jack 
will be spending more time outside the commonwealth with his new 
position as vice chairman and soon will serve as chairman of the 
National Automobile Dealers Association. He's the first Kentucky dealer 
to be elected to these posts and will lobby on behalf of dealers in 
Washington, DC and in Detroit.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jack Kain on his 50 
years of business success and his excellent record of customer service.

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