[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING GEORGE HARVEY SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. H. MORGAN GRIFFITH

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 16, 2021

  Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor George Harvey Sr. of 
Radford, Virginia, who passed away on February 24, 2021 at the age of 
92. Mr. Harvey's life was a true American success story, in which he 
rose from hard beginnings to great accomplishments in business and then 
drew upon them to give back to his community.
  Mr. Harvey was born on May 31, 1928 in Mann, West Virginia. His 
family moved to a farm in Montgomery County, Virginia in 1932. As a 
child, he walked two miles to attend school. When attending Auburn High 
School, he had to walk two miles to catch the bus, and if his 
responsibilities of milking the farm's cows delayed him from catching 
the bus, he had to walk five miles more to school.
  After graduating from Auburn in 1945, Mr. Harvey joined the United 
States Air Corps and was deployed to Fairbanks, Alaska. He passed on 
the chance to attend West Point and opted instead to return home to 
Southwest Virginia. He enrolled in National Business College in 
Roanoke, majoring in Business and Accounting.
  Mr. Harvey began his career by operating a gas station, followed by a 
Texaco Oil Distributing Business and a used car dealership. In 1957, he 
became a General Motors Chevrolet dealer in Christiansburg. The next 
year, he bought an Oldsmobile dealership, and in 1959, he purchased a 
Chevrolet-Oldsmobile-Cadillac franchise in Radford. His business grew 
through the decades, earning him millions and providing jobs to many in 
the region. In 1989, it added a Pontiac-Buick dealership as well. He 
took the obligations that came with wealth and job creation seriously. 
According to the Roanoke Times, he said in 2009 that the number he was 
proudest of was zero, which was the number of employees he had laid off 
over the then-50-year history of Harvey's Chevrolet Cadillac Buick.
  Many local organizations and causes benefited from Mr. Harvey's 
support. At Radford University, he was the second president of the 
foundation and the chairman of the Business and Economics Department, 
driving the creation of a certified School of Business. He was chairman 
of the board at Radford Community Hospital, now Carilion New River 
Valley Medical Center.
  Other roles he held in the community included president of the 
Chamber of Commerce; Vice President of First & Merchants National Bank 
in Radford; past president of the New River Dealers Association, 
Kiwanis Club and Retail Merchants Association; past chairman of United 
Fund and the Michelle ``Petie'' Lineberry Heart Recipient Fund Drive; 
past vice president of the Southwest Virginia Health Services; board 
member of the Virginia automobile Dealers Association, the Commonwealth 
Dealers Life Insurance Association, and Saint Albans Psychiatric 
Hospital; and Elder and member of The Presbyterian Church of Radford.
  Mr. Harvey's survivors include his wife of 61 years, Juanita Kirk 
Harvey, five children, and grandchildren. I would like to offer my 
condolences to them on the loss of this great businessman and community 
leader.

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