[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AWARDING LARRY 
      O'TOOLE THE MASSACHUSETTS SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR

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                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Larry O'Toole, 
founder and president of Gentle Giant Moving Company. Gentle Giant has 
received numerous accolades since it's incorporation in 1985, including 
the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce's 2002 Small Business of the 
Year award, the 2002 and 2003 Better Business Bureau Local Torch Award 
for Excellence, five time winner of both the Improper Bostonian's Best 
Moving Company award and Boston Magazine's Best of Boston: Best Moving 
Company. However, just this spring, Mr. O'Toole has been named the 
Small Business Administration's State Small Business Person of the Year 
from Massachusetts.
  Mr. O'Toole began Gentle Giant in 1980, with $17, a truck he borrowed 
from a friend and a single ad placed in a weekly Boston newspaper. By 
1990, the company's revenue was $2 million; by 2000, it was $12 
million. There is no special secret to Gentle Giant's success. Mr. 
O'Toole relies heavily on well trained, well conditioned moving crews; 
in fact, three Gentle Giant employees participated in the Barcelona 
Olympics. The company also consistently goes above and beyond the call 
of duty to assist those who are moving, to the point where Gentle Giant 
offers complimentary packing seminars on Saturday mornings. The result 
of Mr. O'Toole's business approach is sound--90% of Gentle Giant's 
business is either repeat or referral.
  However, there is more to running a successful business than profit 
and sound business strategy. There is also giving back to the 
community, and in this regard, Mr. O'Toole and Gentle Giant are 
nonpareil. Gentle Giant has partnered for years with the AIDS Action 
Committee, the Boys and Girls Club and the Somerville Homeless 
Coalition. Mr. O'Toole has started the Gentle Giant Rowing Club, 
offering free and subsidized rowing lessons to teens and adults. In 
fact, just this year, Gentle Giant sponsored 11 runners in the 2004 
Boston Marathon.
  In closing, I salute Larry O'Toole for being awarded the Small 
Business Administration State Small Business Person of the Year for 
Massachusetts. It is a well deserved recognition.

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