[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 26 (Monday, February 11, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E158-E159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING MIKE BOWEN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 11, 2019

  Mr. COHEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Memphis 
businessman Mike Bowen who was killed in a car accident in Costa Rica 
on Saturday but who will be long remembered for his grace in giving 
others, including formerly incarcerated individuals, a second chance. 
He was 61. Mr. Bowen was the CEO of Champion Awards and Apparel, a 
company that grew out of Custom Print, founded in 1979, now the largest 
local licensee of University of Memphis-branded merchandise. Mr. Bowen 
was a 1979 graduate of then-Memphis State University and was active in 
its alumni association. He was also an active member of the Tiger 
Scholarship Fund, the Beale Street Merchants Association, the Greater 
Memphis Chamber of Commerce, the Memphis Jaycees, Leadership Memphis 
and the Special Olympics. For years, Mr. Bowen coordinated the Memphis 
Business Journal's Small Business Awards ceremony.
  Growing up in Parkway Village, he said his mother taught him that the 
only color he and his brother should see is green, hopefully with a 
``Benjamin'' on it. In 2007, Bowen made the principled decision to hire 
people with felony convictions for his business in a program that he 
called Late Bloomers, begun in 2007. By late 2016, 18 of his 48 
employees had been formerly incarcerated. Mr. Bowen said he hired the 
men and women because his company was doing 20th Century work in the 
21st Century and need people willing to work hard and sweat. In 
exchange, they received a living wage and a lot of guidance on staying 
straight, including meeting their legal obligations. Known for hugging 
his employees, Mr. Bowen called many of them ``heroes'' for overcoming 
adversity and sticking with hard work. I want to express my condolences 
to his wife, Suzie, and his sons Colby and Michael, his extended family 
and his many friends. He led a good life

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