[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E263-E264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATING THE 2006 CENTRAL INDIANA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME LAUREATES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE PENCE

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 2, 2006

  Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to personally congratulate Dick 
Johnson and Fred Klipsch, two individuals inducted into the Central 
Indiana Business Hall of Fame last week. These business and civic 
leaders are being recognized with this high honor for achieving success 
and contributing to the Indiana business community.
  Dick Johnson exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that has made 
Indiana great. He graduated from Indiana University and started a 
petroleum distribution company in 1957 with a $10,000 loan co-signed by 
his father. In the beginning, wife Ruth and children Rick and Jenny 
helped out by preparing all invoices for mailing. Johnson Oil Company 
grew to be one of the largest independent gas distributors in the 
country with 200 Bigfoot stores employing 1,500 people.
  Dick went on to build multiple companies from scratch, starting with 
very little capital to build a significant enterprise. A generous 
philanthropist, he and Ruth have given over $1 million to his alma 
mater alone.
  I am proud to say that Dick has roots in my own hometown of Columbus, 
where he has never stopped giving back to the community. He has 
received numerous awards, including Columbus Community Service Award, 
1997; IU Annual Distinguished Entrepreneur Award, 1994; and Columbus 
Small Business Person of the Year, 1988.
  Another hometown hero, Fred Klipsch is the model of the successful 
American businessman. From humble blue-collar beginnings to the blue 
suits of the boardroom, he made the transition without losing the 
ethics and values with which he was raised.
  Along the way, Fred acquired and managed several companies. Perhaps 
the most well-known firm is the one that bears his name: loudspeaker 
manufacturer Klipsch and Associates.
  Managing multi-million-dollar companies didn't keep Klipsch from 
volunteering his services. He has been very active at Purdue University 
and just retired from a term as president of the Educational Choice 
Charitable

[[Page E264]]

Trust, an organization that gives scholarships to inner-city children 
to attend private schools.
  Fred has also worked hard to reposition the state Republican Party 
and is still Republican National Committeeman for the State of Indiana.
  Once again, my congratulations to 2006 Central Indiana Business Hall 
of Fame Laureates Dick Johnson and Fred Klipsch.

                          ____________________