[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 135 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDSHIP INDUSTRIES, INC.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 18, 2014

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, celebrating their 50th anniversary this 
year, Friendship Industries, Inc. in Harrisonburg, Virginia has served 
the Commonwealth of Virginia well by offering employment and training 
opportunities for individuals with disabilities. With a vision of 
providing ``work opportunities to ensure immediate and full employment 
for all persons with disabilities'' who come to them for assistance, 
Friendship Industries has fostered a community that seeks to value all 
individuals, regardless of the challenges they may face.
  Friendship Industries, founded in 1964, became one of the first 
social enterprises in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. What first 
began as the Linville-Edom Sheltered Workshop for post-high school aged 
males has grown and flourished into a manufacturing company that has 
earned both private and public contracts. Through all this growth and 
change, Friendship Industries has retained its social mission of 
developing and maintaining employment and training opportunities for 
individuals with disabilities.
  I applaud Friendship Industries for its contributions to our 
community. For 50 years now, the business has provided work 
opportunities for individuals living with disabilities, embracing the 
sentiment that ``work offers community and belonging.'' It is an 
honorable goal to extend community and belonging to all people, and it 
is my great pleasure to congratulate them and celebrate the work 
they've done to achieve that goal.
  Friendship Industries, Inc. will commemorate their 50th anniversary 
on October 7, 2014. I am pleased to recognize them here today in the 
United States House of Representatives.

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