[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO ROBERT E. RICH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor prominent Buffalo 
businessman Robert E. Rich who passed away peacefully on Wednesday, 
February 15, 2006. He was a loving and dedicated husband, father, 
grandfather and great-grandfather. He was an inspiring colleague and 
friend. He was an athletics enthusiast. He was an innovative and 
legendary entrepreneur and founder. And, he was a generous and 
compassionate community and industry advocate.
  Mr. Rich began his path to frozen food industry fame in 1935 as owner 
and operator of Wilber Farms Dairy. In 1945, while serving as the war 
food Administrator in Michigan, he learned about successful research at 
the George Washington Carver Institute on the use of soybeans to create 
innovative food products. After investigating the use of soybeans, he 
developed the world's first non-dairy whipped topping. Rich's industry-
leading reputation was as a family-owned business dedicated to treating 
customers around the world like family. He was also committed to 
continuing the company's aggressive worldwide growth while maintaining 
its headquarters in Buffalo, NY.
  In 1965, Mr. Rich was a charter member of a group which attempted to 
bring a National Hockey League franchise to Buffalo. In 1972, through 
Rich Products, he purchased the naming rights of the new football 
stadium for the Buffalo Bills. In 1988, he authorized the purchase 
which kept the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland 
Indians, in town. Under his chairmanship of the Bisons, the city 
constructed Pilot Field, which is now Dunn Tire Park, which has become 
a source of city pride and national attention.
  Rich founded and headed up the University at Buffalo's Christmas 
Scholarship Fund which made 30 annual scholarships available to 
outstanding scholar-athletes. In 1991, he was inducted into the 
inaugural class of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.
  Mr. Rich continued his commitment to his Buffalo home in 1989 with 
the decision to renovate and redevelop the historic 1200 Niagara Street 
complex on the banks of the Niagara River on the city's West Side. 
Today, the state-of-the-art facility is home to the Rich Research 
Center, hailed as the industry's finest, the Rich Renaissance Niagara 
Atrium and Conference Center, site of weddings, banquets and business 
meetings, the Rich Wellness Center, and the Rich's Family Center, 
Western New York's first on-site child daycare center which celebrated 
its 10th anniversary in 1999.
  In 2004, Rich's made a significant pledge to the National Restaurant 
Association Educational Foundation to establish the Robert E. Rich 
Aspiring Entrepreneurs Scholarship. Four scholarships each year support 
the continued education of undergraduate students pursuing careers in 
the restaurant and foodservice industry.
  In 2005, Rich Products celebrated its 60th birthday posting annual 
sales in excess of $2.5 billion. The company sells more than 2,300 
products in more than 85 countries and employs more than 7,000 
Associates worldwide, including more than 1,300 in its headquarters in 
Buffalo, NY.
  Frozen food industry pioneer, architect of the nation's largest 
family-owned frozen foods manufacturer, sportsman, and community leader 
all describe Robert E. Rich. Rich Products will continue to grow and 
thrive as a family business under the ongoing leadership of his son, 
Bob Rich Jr. But Western New York will sorely miss Robert E. Rich.

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