[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 58 (Thursday, April 22, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H2826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONGRATULATING JOETEN ENTERPRISES ON ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the shareholders, 
management, and employees of a very special family-owned business in 
the Northern Mariana Islands as they celebrate their company's 60th 
anniversary. Joeten Enterprises, Inc., or simply Joeten as it is known 
to local residents, began with Jose Camacho Tenorio and his wife 
Soledad Duenas Takai selling beer and soft drinks to soldiers and 
sailors from Saipan right after World War II. Joeten and Daidai, as 
everyone called the Tenorios, gradually grew their quintessential mom 
and pop operation into a diversified, multimillion-dollar corporation. 
Today Joeten Enterprises encompasses not only retail shopping outlets 
but also wholesale, shipping and stevedoring, car dealership and auto 
service, hotel, real estate, construction and material supply, 
hardware, insurance, bakery and deli businesses. They have hundreds of 
employees, including many that have been a part of the company for 
decades.
  It is difficult to imagine our principal island of Saipan 60 years 
ago. The war had destroyed virtually all of the physical and commercial 
infrastructure. Residents found some work with the U.S. military or 
lived on government handouts. So for newlyweds Joeten and Daidai to 
take the great entrepreneurial leap of faith and open a corner grocery 
store in the village of Chalan Kanoa was a significant step not only in 
their own lives but in the reconstruction of the island economy.
  Joeten and Daidai sacrificed much and worked long hours to build 
their small business. Joeten was lucky enough to have a government job, 
but he was constantly networking, planning, and then carefully 
executing a variety of adaptations and expansions to grow the business. 
Daidai supervised the store during the day, balancing the books, while 
caring for and feeding the couple's growing family. The four daughters 
and two sons of Joeten and Daidai--Annie, Clarence, Norman, Patricia, 
Frances, and Priscilla--began their own education in business at an 
early age right there in the store. Their parents' example and tough 
but caring attitude taught the children to work hard to get what they 
wanted from life. They learned that personal discipline was key to 
success. And as each of the children grew, they took on their own 
increasingly important roles in the burgeoning Joeten Enterprises.
  Joeten passed on in 1993, Daidai in 2008. But their six children 
continue to run the many businesses their parents began. The children 
of Joeten and Daidai share their parents' values with their own 
children, so the lessons Joeten and Daidai imparted continue to be 
practiced by a third generation of entrepreneurs.
  As retold by the Tenorio children and grandchildren, one of the most 
important of these lessons was that to a large degree the company's 
success is the result of the teamwork of the company's loyal and 
dedicated managers and employees.
  In that spirit, we salute them all--owners, managers, employees. Hand 
in hand, may they continue to prosper in the next decade, guided by the 
vision and spirit of the company's founding couple, Joeten and Daidai.

                          ____________________