[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E9]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          CELEBRATING THE LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS OF GORDON B. ZACKS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PATRICK J. TIBERI

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2014

  Mr. TIBERI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life 
achievements of Gordon B. Zacks.
  Expressing how much Gordy has meant to Central Ohio and the nation is 
an impossible task. As a fellow graduate of The Ohio State University, 
as an admirer and as a friend of this remarkable person, it gives me 
great pleasure to add my personal appreciation and commendation.
  Gordy served with distinction as an advisor, confidant, and friend of 
U.S. presidents to help change the political landscape of the American 
Jewish community and improve U.S. relations on behalf of Israel and its 
neighboring Arab states. Gordy worked with three U.S. presidents and 
five Israeli Prime Ministers, and his political involvement reached its 
highpoint during the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush presidencies. 
Gordy declined an ambassadorship in the Reagan-Bush Administration and 
a Cabinet post during the Bush-Quayle Administration in order to serve 
as unofficial advisor and confidant to Vice President and subsequently 
President Bush. He met privately with Vice President and then President 
Bush on a monthly basis to discuss Israeli/American relations, the 
Middle East peace process, Soviet Jewry, Ethiopian Jewry, and the 
political landscape of the American Jewish community.
  Blessed with true ambition, Gordy is also a brilliant businessman who 
catapulted R.G. Barry Corporation from a small family firm into an 
international footwear industry leader. He joined the Columbus, Ohio-
based company in 1955 and became president in 1965. He was elected CEO 
of the company in 1979 and retired in 2004. He is currently the 
Chairman of the Board of Directors for the company. Today, R.G. Barry 
is the world's largest marketer and supplier of at-and-around-the-home 
comfort footwear for men, women and children, under the brand name of 
Dearfoams.
  Gordy's book Defining Moments--Stories of Character, Courage, and 
Leadership profiles remarkable leaders who have made the world a better 
place. Gordan Zacks has built his own legacy of leadership and 
integrity--the benefits of which have accrued to his family, his 
friends and all those who are privileged to know him.
  On behalf of the citizens of Ohio's 12th Congressional District, I 
would like to thank Gordy for his devotion to the great state of Ohio 
and to all of the communities that have benefitted from his invaluable 
contributions.

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