[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4611-S4612]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     TRIBUTE TO CURTIS D. ROBINSON

 Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I rise to recognize Mr. 
Curtis D. Robinson, a long-time resident of Connecticut and outstanding 
entrepreneur and philanthropist who turns 80 on September 21, 2022.
  As a teenager, Mr. Robinson left Birmingham, AL, and the segregation 
of the Jim Crow South, arriving in Hartford, CT, in 1958 with little 
more than the clothes on his back. Mr. Robinson began working two full-
time jobs and one part-time job and, after several years, was able to 
purchase a grocery store at the age of 18. By the time he was 22, Mr. 
Robinson also owned a restaurant, a cleaning service, an apartment 
building, and a construction supply company. He used this experience to 
start the Small Business Development Program in 1969, creating over 100 
small businesses in the Hartford and Springfield areas. This remarkable 
success is a testament to Mr. Robinson's extraordinary industrious 
spirit and tremendous work ethic.
  Today, Mr. Robinson is the owner, operator, and president of C&R 
Development Company, the largest minority construction management 
company on the east coast. He also owns several shops within Bradley 
International Airport and runs other businesses, including R&G 
Services, which operates the shuttle bus service at the airport, and 
R&G Parking, which operates one of the largest parking lots in downtown 
Hartford.
  In addition to his entrepreneurial endeavors, Mr. Robinson is also an 
advocate for health equity. As the cofounder and chairman of the Curtis 
D. Robinson Center for Health Equity--CDRCHE--he expands the provision 
of critical health services in underserved communities, serving over 
10,000 people since 2010. Expanding on this firsthand experience in 
addressing health inequities, Mr. Robinson sits on the boards of 
Trinity Health of New England, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical 
Center, and the Connecticut Hospital Association.
  Mr. Robinson is also an extraordinary philanthropist and has 
contributed greatly to the civic life of Connecticut. Along with his 
wife, Mr. Robinson founded the Curtis and Sheila Robinson Foundation, 
which provides financial support across a variety of areas--offering 
assistance with food, rent, clothing, transportation, and scholarship 
funds for individuals in need. Over the years, they have championed 
many worthy causes, including efforts to combat food insecurity, 
domestic violence, and poverty. The Robinsons have also assisted 
individuals with medical and hospital care, donated buses to churches 
and schools, and adopted a homeless shelter for displaced children. 
Their charitable contributions are truly too numerous to list, and I 
applaud their remarkable efforts to give back to their community.

[[Page S4612]]

  Mr. Robinson's incredible achievements--building a life for himself 
through hard work and determination--truly embody the American dream. 
His willingness to use his hard-earned success to give back to others 
serves as a model for all of us. I applaud his many accomplishments and 
hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating Mr. Curtis Robinson 
on this milestone of his 80th birthday.

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