[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 37 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S1060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Tribute to Ron Wanek

  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I have the honor of recognizing Mr. 
Ron Wanek, a great business leader, innovator, and philanthropist from 
the great State of Wisconsin, as he, his family, and his company 
celebrate his induction into the Wisconsin Manufacturing Hall of Fame.
  Wisconsin has a long history of being the home of many successful 
manufacturing businesses. With his induction into the Manufacturing 
Hall of Fame, Mr. Wanek joins the ranks of past inductees, such as 
Jerome Case, Patrick Cudahy, Sam Johnson, Walter Kohler, Oscar Mayer, 
Frederick Miller, and Gustave Pabst, just to name a few of the 78 
iconic titans of business who helped to make Wisconsin a proud 
manufacturing State.
  For his part in continuing the long legacy of Wisconsin 
manufacturing, Ron Wanek founded Arcadia Furniture in the small town of 
Arcadia, WI, back in 1970. Back then, Mr. Wanek employed just a total 
of 35 people. Through hard work and innovation, in 1982, Arcadia 
Furniture merged with Ashley Furniture Cooperation and became Ashley 
Furniture Industries.
  During these last 42 years, Ashley Furniture has grown into the 
world's largest manufacturer of home furnishings, with over 30 million 
square feet of worldwide manufacturing and distribution capability, 
with retail locations throughout the United States and in 67 countries 
worldwide. Ashley proudly employs 16,000 people in the United States, 
including 3,000 hard-working Wisconsinites.
  Throughout his successful professional career, Mr. Wanek has become 
the personification of the phrase ``business is a force for good.'' 
With his focus on philanthropy, the Ronald & Joyce Wanek Foundation has 
contributed tens of millions of dollars in support for important 
charitable causes in Wisconsin and across the country.
  Through his charitable work, Mr. Wanek has become an unmatched 
supporter of technical and STEM education at both the K-12 and 
postsecondary levels. Through his various programs, partnerships, and 
scholarships, the Ronald & Joyce Wanek Foundation aims to encourage 
students to pursue careers in STEM fields and improve the quality of 
life in their own communities.
  In addition, Mr. Wanek is an ardent supporter of America's veterans. 
His establishment of the beautiful Soldiers Walk at Memorial Park in 
Arcadia, WI--a premier war memorial in the United States, with 29 
monuments and statues honoring all of those who have served our 
country--is just one example of his dedication to those who have 
sacrificed and, in some cases, paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedoms 
Wisconsinites and Americans enjoy every day. Some would say the Arcadia 
Soldiers Walk rivals the magnificence of the war memorials around our 
Nation's Capital.
  Finally, Mr. Wanek is not only a great personification of the 
American dream, but he actively and enthusiastically supports a 
steadfast American free enterprise system--a system which has made this 
country the economic engine of the world.
  I congratulate Ron Wanek on his recent induction into the Wisconsin 
Manufacturing Hall of Fame. It is well-deserved.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Butler). The Senator from Michigan.