[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE IN MEMORY OF DR. PEARSE LYONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HAROLD ROGERS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 14, 2018

  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the memory of my Irish friend and one of Kentucky's best imports, Dr. 
Pearse Lyons.
   Dr. Lyons was born and raised across the pond in Ireland and the 
United Kingdom and immigrated to Kentucky over 40 years ago to launch 
his first major business, Alltech. He quickly became a Kentuckian at 
heart and developed an inspiring passion for rural Eastern Kentucky. In 
many ways, he would tell me, that Kentucky's Appalachian region 
reminded him of his homeplace in Ireland, where folks take great pride 
in their communities and their trades. In fact, he believed in Eastern 
Kentucky so much that he extended a branch from Alltech into Pikeville, 
Kentucky with a new distillery to create jobs and invest in our region. 
Today, Alltech is now a $3 million company that employs more than 5,000 
people across 128 countries, and soon those numbers will include 
Eastern Kentucky.
   Dr. Lyons was the type of visionary that believed we could 
accomplish monumental things by telling the story of Eastern Kentucky 
with our own people leading the charge, with our own talents. His 
charisma and enthusiasm for life were contagious. He helped remind us 
of the unique treasures that we have in Eastern Kentucky and inspired 
us to share them on a broader spectrum.
   In addition to his business ingenuity, Dr. Lyons and his lovely 
wife, Deidre, shared their philanthropic spirit with the entire 
Commonwealth. In fact, Alltech was birthed as a way to help feed the 
world with locally farmed products. Thanks to his global leadership in 
agribusiness, Dr. Lyons played an essential role in attracting the 
World Equestrian Games to Kentucky in 2010 by building the state-of-
the-art Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. Aside from the farm, 
Dr. Pearse and Deidre Lyons have shared immense generosity around the 
globe through disaster relief, improving access to education, and 
countless other worthy programs.
   I counted Dr. Lyons a dear friend who displayed genuine kindness and 
love for our state. I'm grateful that he planted seeds of hope in 
Kentucky, where we will see his dreams continue to flourish for years 
to come. My wife, Cynthia, and I extend our heartfelt sympathy to 
Deidre and the entire Lyons family.

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