[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S4840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. KERRY. Madam President, today I honor the distinguished 
70-year history of the National Small Business Association. This 
member-driven organization continues to take the lead on important 
issues facing small businesses and is the oldest small business 
advocacy group in the United States. It is especially fitting that we 
recognize this organization during National Small Business Week.
  The NSBA can trace its founding back to DeWitt M. Emery, a determined 
small business owner struggling to keep his business running in the 
midst of the Great Depression. As owner of the Monroe Letterhead 
Corporation in Akron, OH, Mr. Emery labored to keep his small business 
running while feeling burdened by the increasing cost of doing 
business--including higher material costs and wages.
  Frustrated by the lack of support for small businesses in national 
politics, and inspired by an idea to make his and his peers' voices 
heard, Mr. Emery founded the National Small Business Men's Association 
on November 13, 1937. One hundred sixty small business owners out of 
200 who received Mr. Emery's recruitment letter joined the organization 
that now boasts a reach of over 150,000 small businesses.
  In keeping with the organization's responsiveness to the ever-
changing small business climate, and to be more inclusive of the 
growing number of women small business owners, the group changed its 
name in 1962 to the National Small Business Association.
  In 1986, the organization changed its name again to National Small 
Business United when it joined with Small Business United, or SBU, a 
rival organization that started 5 years earlier. SBU and its member 
groups, such as the Smaller Business Association of New England, or 
SBANE, helped establish the current organization's vast network of 
small business affiliates. After the merger, the new organization 
became responsible for running the SBANE-created Washington 
Presentation. In addition to SBANE, some of the other NSBA affiliates 
are the Arizona Small Business Association, the Small Business 
Association of Michigan, Missouri Merchants and Manufacturers 
Association, SMC Business Councils, Council of Smaller Enterprises and 
Small Business California. Thanks to its strong affiliates NSBA has 
emerged as a vibrant grassroots organization.
  In 2003, the oldest small business advocacy group changed its name 
back to the National Small Business Association. Through its name 
changes and merger, the organization's commitment to representing small 
business owners has been unwavering, and today's group boasts a wide 
variety of members from carpenters to investors, from manufacturers to 
grocers. NSBA truly represents the diversity of our Nation's small 
businesses. As chairman of the Committee on Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship, I work with NSBA's members in my State and across the 
Nation, welcoming their insights and unique perspective.
  I find it important to note that today's small business owners 
struggle with some of the same issues that plagued Mr. Emery in 1937, 
and many new issues. From access to capital to health care, we will 
continue to work with small businesses as they strive to maintain and 
grow their firms--and as they make a significant contribution to our 
economy. Through the efforts of advocacy groups like the NSBA working 
with us to pass legislation, we have been able to assist thousands of 
determined small business owners like Mr. Emery. The tireless work of 
the NSBA is testament to the resolve and spirit of small business 
owners, and I am gratified that the current organization leads the 
charge on many important issues. I invite the Senate to join me in 
honoring NSBA and its distinguished history of nonpartisan work on 
behalf of small businesses.

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