[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 14, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1675-S1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO MR. JIM BOOTH
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to someone
[[Page S1676]]
who has given so much back to the great Commonwealth of Kentucky--
someone who has taken it upon himself to make an investment in the
betterment of his community, county, and State for generations to come.
I am speaking of Mr. Jim Booth of Inez, KY.
Mr. Booth has kept the town of Inez, located in Martin County, close
to his heart his entire life. In this town he graduated from high
school, met his wife, Linda, and paid his way through Morehead State
University by working part-time in the region's coal mines. So many
milestones in Jim Booth's life have taken place in this eastern
Kentucky town, it is no surprise that he is so devoted to giving
something back to the place that's given him and his family so much.
Jim Booth combined a business administration degree, love for his
community and its residents, and hard work to stimulate the local
economy across the board. It has been said that there isn't a single
growth project in Martin County that doesn't have Jim and Linda Booth's
fingerprints all over it. The couple manages a coal company, a Ford
dealership, real-estate agencies, convenience stores, hotels, insurance
agencies, and a building supply store.
With so many successful projects in so many industries, it may seem
that Jim Booth has a lot to brag about. But Jim is a man of modesty and
humility. He makes it a point not to boast about his own
accomplishments, but the accomplishments others have made from the
little push that he gave them. Jim has helped to bring over 2,000 jobs
to the area, and he is grateful for the exceptional employees that he
has been so blessed with.
Booth's story is one of success in the free market, and a testimony
to what can happen when a small business is given room to take root and
grow. Mr. Booth bought his first coal mine when he was just 25 years
old. At the time, the tax rate was 70 percent, and he remembers having
to borrow against his own income for the next year just to pay the
business's taxes. ``Then, when Reagan became President and taxes went
down--BOOM. We're the best story you'll find for how success comes from
tax relief,'' says Jim.
Over the next few years, the business experienced tremendous growth
and success. Jim went on to start a building supply company, and from
this he put into effect his most important piece of business advice--be
your own best customer. Mr. Booth made the necessary purchases from the
building supply store to assist in building numerous hotels,
convenience stores, and other various buildings and business over the
years.
Mr. Booth has a vision of renovating and remodeling virtually the
entire city of Inez's local infrastructure at some time or another. He
is almost halfway through this process, as he has already made headway
providing new facilities for the Martin County Board of Education and
the Martin County Economic Development Board, of which he is the
chairman.
The most prized accomplishment of Mr. Booth is the Roy F. Collier
Community Center, named in honor of Jim's late friend and business
partner who passed away in 2005. The facility houses a movie theater,
indoor track, fitness center, arcade, and large meeting rooms available
for reservation. The versatile community center provides entertainment
to over 200,000 residents of Kentucky from across the state annually.
Along with all of these major improvements to his local community,
Jim has also sponsored a local basketball tournament, provided the
chance for anyone who is interested to become a certified coal miner,
and headed up a campaign that helps combat youth obesity called
``Martin County on the Move'' with United States Representative Hal
Rogers. While it may seem like Jim has a lot to celebrate, he stays
focused on what all of his hard work is really about.
``This is home, Linda and I decided to stay here; build here and
improve our community for the next generation,'' Jim says. Jim is
determined to providing as much inspiration and as many opportunities
as he can to those individuals who share with him the same ``home'' of
Martin County, KY.
Mr. President, at this time I would like to ask my Senate colleagues
to join me in commemorating the accomplishments of this treasured
citizen of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
In 2011, an article was included in a publication released by the
Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that featured the many
accomplishments that Jim Booth has been able to generate throughout his
life thus far. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed
in the Record that article.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to appear in the
Record as follows:
[From the Southeast Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, 2011]
Jim Booth
Committed to Economic Development
There's an old adage that says ``Bloom where you are
planted.'' It's apparent that Jim and Linda Booth have taken
that saying to heart. Not only have their family and
businesses prospered in Martin County, but they have worked
to make the entire county ``bloom.'' You can hardly enter a
building, walk a trail, or have a bite to eat in which the
Booths weren't involved. A short list of businesses the
Booths operate include coal mining, a Ford dealership,
convenience stores, real estate, building supplies, hotels,
and insurance, but the underlying theme is their dedication
to cultural and economic development in their hometown.
``There's no question, we could have gone other places and
it would have been easier, and maybe more profitable as far
as the retail side goes,'' Jim explains, ``but I really know
that someone had to be involved here in our community. There
haven't been very many people willing to do that, but I can
tell you, the team we've put together has been able to make
our enterprises profitable. Mostly, it has allowed us to
employ a lot of people. We employ about 800 in retail and we
have around 1,400 coal miners. One way we have made our
enterprises work is that we are one of the best customers of
about every business we've started. That's given us a base
for some sustainability.''
``One of the first businesses we started was a building
supply, and the next one was a mine supply business, so we
were, of course, good customers of both of them. When we
built hotels, we used our building supply to furnish the
materials. Then we put a team together to build the hotels. I
entered into a partnership with my brother-in-law, Kevin
Davis, who operates Fast Change Lube & Oil, a chain of
Pennzoil Lube Centers. Kevin has done an excellent job in
growing our stores, which today we have over 21 lube centers
and six car washes. We're a good customer of our insurance
companies and, of course, our convenience stores. Even the
Ford dealership, we're probably one of the best customers of
the dealership. It's not necessarily all been calculated in
advance--sometimes opportunities just arise. We entered into
the car dealership business in order to keep one here, then
we lost the Chevrolet store when the government took over GM.
But we still have Ford.''
Jim and Linda Booth both graduated from Warfield High
School; Linda a year after Jim. Jim started college at
Morehead State University and Linda began next year. In order
to pay their way through school, Jim became a part-time coal
miner. ``We drove here (Inez) on weekends,'' Jim remembers,
``and I worked in a service station for my brother. Then,
during the day, I worked underground in the mine. Linda and I
would drive back to Morehead in time for school. I had Monday
through Thursday classes typically, so we could come home on
Thursdays. When I graduated, I interviewed for a couple of
personnel jobs--I have a business administration degree--and
I realized I made more money working part-time as a coal
miner than any other offer I was getting at the time.
I said to Linda, `Let's go back and let me work a little
while at the mine,' '' Jim remembers. ``I had a hard time
talking her into it but I convinced her,'' he smiles. ``Real
quickly I got into management, and by the time I had
completed three years' experience, I became a foreman. When I
was 25 years old, I got the opportunity to start my own mine.
Then, when I was 27, I incurred a hefty sum in income tax!
That was when the tax rate was 70 percent. I had a hard time
scraping up the money, and then there was no money left for
us--it all went to the federal government and I was
struggling. I had to borrow money from the next year's
earnings to pay the taxes. Then, when Reagan became president
and taxes went down--BOOM. We're the best story you'll find
for how success comes from tax relief. We would not have
survived if the taxes had stayed the same. We bought a brand
new set of equipment for our mine. We'd been in business nine
years and had not been able to afford new equipment. We had
money to use to invest then, and we started growing. We had
operated only contract mines until 1988, at which time we
were able to get our own operation. We bought an Ashland coal
operation in Johnson County, and we began cleaning and
washing the coal at the prep plant, marketing the coal--the
entire process.''
``During that time was when we started to diversify,'' Jim
continues. ``We built our first development building--a
building that we leased to the post office--it had apartments
upstairs. That was the very first investment we completed. We
bought the building supply in the early '80s and put the
[[Page S1677]]
group together that started using our supplies--we buy from
ourselves when we build houses, apartments, hotels, and any
other retail developments.''
Jim Booth has many things to be proud of--building an
economic conglomerate from scratch, for one--but he is very
modest when speaking of his business accomplishments. What he
seems most proud of are the jobs and opportunities he's been
able to bring to the local people.
``We started the convenience stores in '84. The first Fast
Lane was in Lovely, KY. We have a really good team--James
Mills manages Fast Lane, Fast Lane Tobacco Stores, and
Mountain Petroleum, and he does a really good job. Fast Lane
has been a great success--not just for Martin County but for
the region. Locally, we do tremendous things for the school
system. The Fast Lane Classic is second to none--I doubt
there is a better pre-season basketball tournament in the
state of Kentucky. It's held at Sheldon Clark High School on
the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, and some of the best
teams in the tri-state participate. UK Wildcat Patrick
Patterson participated in our tournament when he played at
Huntington High.
``Through our businesses, we're able to help a lot of these
kids get into the workforce,'' Jim continues. ``They'll tell
me, `I got to buy a car because of Taco Bell or KFC' because
that's where they work. There wouldn't be those kinds of
opportunities here for kids if we didn't have the retail
jobs.
``On the coal mining sector, we've allowed anybody from the
area who wants to be a miner and is qualified to train and
become a certified coal miner. To be honest with you, we need
coal miners right now. We have several vacancies in our
mining operations. We could hire qualified people right
now.''
After Fast Lane, knowing the area needed a hotel, Jim and
his team built the Inez Super 8 Hotel. He chose the location
because the site had the necessary infrastructure. From
there, they moved out from Martin County and began what he
refers to as the Interstate Hotels--located in Mt. Sterling,
Catlettsburg, and two in Huntington--all on I 64. They're all
doing well.
When asked to describe his business plan, Jim explains it
very simply: ``We have mostly grown from within based on
common synergies. Almost everyone in management has started
on the ground floor and worked their way through the system.
Most are local residents. We have a lot of families that
every member of the family has worked for us. We try to
provide all the opportunities this area can support.''
The companies have ventured out of Martin County. Jim's
son-in-law, Jeff Fraley, operates the United States
Achievement Academy in Lexington, which is similar to Who's
Who. They do all the printing for the book and have about 100
employees. Two other businesses in Lexington are Southeast
Mail, the largest bulk mailer in Lexington, and a Bluegrass
branch of Elite Insurance.
Booth Enterprises has gone into Louisa with the new
Yatesville Crossing shopping center, containing retail
businesses such as Wal-Mart, Appalachian Wireless, and Radio
Shack. Plans are to build a medical center on the lower
level. As an offspring of the building supply in Lovely, a
Surplus Home Center has been opened in Louisa. The company
buys oversupply items from different places and ships them to
the Center. The buyer is Martin County native Carolea Mills
who is also a board member of the Roy F. Collier Community
Center.
Jim Booth really lights up when describing the Collier
Community Center and its programs. ``It is probably the most
unique centralized facility Martin County has ever
established, and it is highly utilized by the community,'' he
says. ``Roy Collier was one of my business partners when I
started out, and he passed in 2005. I donated the property,
so I was allowed to name the building in honor of Roy. The
Community Center has four digital 3 D cinemas with surround
sound, an indoor walking track, a gift store, a Fun Zone
Arcade, a fitness center, video conferencing, a computer lab,
and large rooms for receptions or meetings. Over 125,000
people per year make use of it. It's a real drawing card--
people come from surrounding counties--especially for the
cinema.''
Jim was also instrumental in working with Morehead State
University, where he has served as chairman of the Board of
Regents, to bring the ``Martin County on the Move'' program
to Martin County and the Collier Community Center. He and
President Wayne Andrews of Morehead State University met with
U.S. Representative Hal Rogers to discuss the problem of
obesity in young people. The Congressman secured a year's
grant to encourage Martin County kids to be more active and
to select healthy food. Although the program is based at the
Collier Community Center, the health directors work through
the local school system. One year, Jim bought pedometers for
all the kids in 6th grade! Started in Martin, the program
will progress into other counties, with Lawrence County the
next possible choice. ``Martin County on the Move'' has been
hugely successful in creating new health and wellness
initiatives in the community.
Jim's personal involvement throughout Inez is evident by
his leadership as chairman of the Martin County Economic
Development Board, which has oversight of the new Business
Center. The Martin County Board of Education and the office
of the Kentucky Health & Human Services were both in
buildings that were falling apart around them. Now an open,
light-filled, modern building with walls filled with art and
the very best in technology stands as a beacon of progress in
the community. It is home to both organizations and has
additional leasable space as well. Built with coal severance
tax money and the support of Judge Kelly Callaham, the county
is allowed to keep the revenue to maintain the facility.
Christi Brown, executive director of the Martin County
Economic Development Authority, spearheaded development of
the Business Center and presently manages the Center.
The Martin County Historical Society was also built on
property Jim and Linda Booth donated. The Historical Society
has a small privately owned gift shop, located on the first
floor of an adjoining building, and the rent helps with
operating expenses of the Society. Mike Duncan, president of
Inez Deposit Bank, allows students from their summer intern
program to volunteer at the Society. The students work at the
bank, participate in cultural programs, hear business
speakers (including Jim Booth), and work on their own family
trees at the Historical Society.
Jim transitions seamlessly from recalling the past to
looking toward the future. ``County Judge/Executive Kelly
Callaham wants to build a new courthouse and continue to
utilize the existing facility as a redesigned cultural
center. We're also looking at doing some redevelopment on the
east side of Inez's Main Street. We want to remodel or
replace most of the buildings, and we hope to make retail
space downstairs and office or living quarters upstairs.
We're working with the Appalachian Regional Commission to
develop a plan.''
It's safe to say that whatever Jim puts his efforts into
will exceed expectations, will definitely be something to
benefit both Martin County and southeastern Kentucky, and
will be a source of pride and inspiration.
It's plain to see that Jim Booth is dedicated to making
things happen in Martin County, buy why does he put such
effort and heart into every project?
``This is home,'' he says. ``Linda and I decided to stay
here; build here and improve our community for the next
generation.'' That they have done, and they are to be
commended for their efforts.
____________________