[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 29 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING MR. JOHN McELENEY, DEALERSHIP OWNER OF MCELENEY CHEVY BUICK 
                      GMC TOYOTA OF CLINTON, IOWA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID LOEBSACK

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 28, 2013

  Mr. LOEBSACK. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize Mr. John 
McEleney, an automobile dealer in Clinton, Iowa. John, owner of 
McEleney Chevy Buick GMC Toyota, was recently nominated for the 2013 
TIME Dealer of the Year award sponsored by TIME Magazine and Ally. John 
was nominated by Bruce Anderson, President of the Iowa Automobile 
Dealers Association, and was honored at the National Automobile Dealers 
Association Convention & Exposition in Orlando. The TIME Dealer of the 
Year award is one of the auto industry's most prestigious awards, 
recognizing both success in the industry and exemplary community 
service.
  John is a third-generation family dealer who operates a dealership 
first opened in 1914. He began washing cars and doing janitorial work 
at the dealership as a 13-year-old, and after graduating cum laude from 
the University of Notre Dame with a degree in business administration, 
he returned to Clinton in 1973 to join the dealership full-time. In 
1976 John became dealer operator as a 24-year-old, carrying on the 
tradition of family ownership. John was chairman of the National 
Automobile Dealers Association in 2009, a historic year in the auto 
industry, and he took part in many high-level policy discussions with 
the US Department of Treasury and the White House in an effort to fight 
for dealers across the country.
  In addition to his dedicated service at the family dealership and his 
work on behalf of the American auto industry, John has been a generous 
supporter of charitable efforts, including supporting the Iowa 
Automobile Dealers Foundation for Education and the National Automobile 
Dealers Charitable Foundation. He also founded the ``Fill the Stocking 
Fund'' in Clinton that helps provide gifts and financial support for 
needy families within the community. John has chaired a successful 
fundraising campaign to support economic development in the Clinton 
area, as well as serving as president of the Clinton Rotary Club, on 
the Paul B. Sharar Foundation Board of Directors, and as vice president 
of the Mount St. Clare College board.
  On behalf of my constituents, I would like to thank John McEleney for 
his years of service to the Clinton community, the State of Iowa, and 
our nation. I know I join his colleagues, friends, and family in 
congratulating him for his nomination for TIME Dealer of the Year.

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