[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 10, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E139-E140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF JIM FINDLAY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2004

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I would like entered into the Congressional 
Record an article about a wonderful man, Jim Findlay.

              [From the Toledo Events Magazine, Jan. 2004]

                           More to the Story


            Entrepreneur adds two chapters to autobiography

                           (By Sue Van Fleet)

       If a life can be said to correspond to the pages in a book, 
     then it was time for Jim Findlay to add a few more chapters.
       The well-known entrepreneur. and philanthropist had written 
     an autobiography in 2001. ``In the Company of Friends'' 
     almost resembles a scrapbook, its text interspersed with 
     photos, letters, poems, quotes and newspaper clippings.
       Findlay was the chairman and co-founder of Impact Products, 
     a business in Sylvania Township that provided supplies to the 
     sanitary maintenance industry. But only six months after the 
     book was printed, the company was sold to Park Avenue Equity 
     Partners. At the time of the sale, Impact Products had 160 
     employees and more than $40 million in sales.
       ``Since the motivating purpose of the book was to create a 
     permanent record of the company, I felt it would be important 
     to talk about its sale'' Findlay said.
       Impact had become an employee-owned company in 1986 with 
     the establishment of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership 
     Program). In March 1998, Findlay and his children sold their 
     remaining interest to the ESOP trust, making the employees 
     100 percent owners of the company.
       ``Since I was leaving, they then had an opportunity to sell 
     and get a 15 percent premium over what we were valued at,'' 
     Findlay said. ``So I encouraged them to do so, so they could 
     diversify their holdings rather than have it all in Impact, 
     which they did.'' Impact's employees averaged about $156,000 
     each from the sale, an amount that varied according to their 
     seniority.
       ``So they did good, and they really should, because it was 
     the employees that made the company,'' Findlay said. ``I've 
     always felt very strongly that if you take care of the 
     employees, they'll take care of the customers. We've always 
     shared with them:'
       The company brought in estate planning professionals and 
     investment firms for seminars and individual counseling 
     sessions to help them make good decisions regarding their 
     investments.
       ``Over the next two weeks there were a lot of new cars in 
     the parking lot,'' Findlay said. ``And a lot of them were 
     able to buy homes and do some things that they weren't able 
     to before, so, I was very proud to be able to do that for my 
     employees.''
       If he had to do it over again, would he have gone the ESOP 
     route? Findlay says yes, but with some reservations. For 
     instance, as the company's stock price increased, it created 
     a debt that would have to be paid to employees who decided to 
     tender their stock upon retiring or leaving the company. 
     Findlay also fretted that he was putting his employees at 
     excessive risk since so much of their personal investment was 
     tied up in one asset. Both these problems were eliminated 
     with the sale of the company to Park Avenue.
       On the plus side, the ESOP gave every employee ownership in 
     the company, increasing their motivation and giving Findlay a 
     way of thanking them for their part in Impact's success. It 
     also made it possible for he and his wife, Celia, to 
     establish several trusts and provide gifts to charitable 
     organizations. ``So we were able to do some things while 
     we're living rather than do it all after we passed away,'' 
     he said.
       The second chapter Findlay added to the new edition is 
     titled ``The Rest of the Story.'' In it he details some of 
     the many awards that came his way in late 2001 and 2002. Both 
     Celia and Jim Findlay are graduates of the University of 
     Toledo, she in education and he in business. They have set up 
     scholarships at UT in both disciplines and have supported UT 
     with both time and money over the years.
       In August 2001, the university named a building on its 
     Scott Park campus after them. The Findlay Athletic Complex 
     houses the baseball, softball and soccer facilities. Jim 
     Findlay was also awarded an honorary doctoral degree from UT 
     and received the Alumni Association's Gold `T' Award, which 
     recognizes alumni who have served the university and the 
     community.
       He was especially touched when he was invited to the home 
     of UT President Dan Johnson and his wife, Elaine, following 
     the commencement ceremony in which he received his honorary 
     degree. ``How could an average student and an ordinary Joe be 
     the guest of a college president and receive from his hand 
     the highest honor the university can bestow?'' Findlay wrote 
     in his book. ``. . . Surrounded by the happy voices of a 
     company of friends, consisting of wife, children, 
     grandchildren and esteemed friends, I knew that whatever the 
     future might hold, I have known and experienced the deep joy 
     of blessedness.'' In October 2002, Findlay was honored by 
     manufacturer reps at the annual convention of the 
     International Sanitary Supply Association, receiving the 
     first ever Manufacturer Representative Distinguished Service 
     Award. Findlay has been a standout in terms of how he treats 
     his reps, notably having the only corporation in his industry 
     with a 401(k) plan for them.
       ``My manufacturer reps are the ones who did the selling and 
     put us on the map,'' Findlay said. ``I've always felt 
     extremely close to them. If the law would have allowed us to 
     do so, I would have made them part of the ESOP''
       Although Findlay has enjoyed a life full of many successes, 
     there were two things he didn't accomplish that he had wanted 
     to: the establishment of an Impact Charitable Foundation and 
     the creation of an Impact School of Continuing Education. 
     They were close to launching the school for their employees 
     when the company was sold. The foundation may yet come to 
     fruition as others work toward that end.
       Seven years ago, Findlay started Findlay Business Partners 
     Ltd., which leases storage and office warehouses. With units 
     at 3315 Centennial Rd. and 3545 Silica Road, the business is 
     run by his children. His son Jon is president, while daughter 
     Sarah and son James Jr. are vice presidents.
       When asked what he is most proud of, he mentions being able 
     to pass the business complex on to his children, as well as 
     the scholarships he has set up for business and education 
     students at UT and for minorities at Toledo Christian School.
       Although much of the book details Findlay's business, it 
     also covers his childhood, time in the service, college 
     years, relationship with his church and UT; and family. At 
     the end of the book he provides an update on the health of 
     his wife, Celia, whom he calls the love of his life. She is 
     in the fifth round if chemotherapy for carcinoma of the 
     endometrium.

[[Page E140]]

       ``My greatest, most fervent hope for all families is that 
     each child will choose a lifetime partner as well as I did,'' 
     he writes in the 16th chapter. He and the former UT 
     homecoming queen were wed on Jan. 28, 1949.
       ``Relationships are what it's all about,'' Findlay said. 
     ``I don't need yachts or luxury cars--I don't live too high. 
     Success is about building relationships with people and being 
     fair in trying to treat everybody alike.''

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