[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 113 (Monday, July 13, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING DANNY REYNOLDS OF STEPHENSON'S OF ELKHART

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                          HON. RUDY YAKYM III

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 13, 2026

  Mr. YAKYM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Danny Reynolds of 
Stephenson's of Elkhart, who will be named the 2026 America's Retail 
Champion on July 15 at the NRF Retail Advocates Summit here in 
Washington, DC. Danny Reynolds is a name known to just about every 
family in Elkhart County.
  For decades, he has helped fit local residents for life's biggest 
moments, and he's done it with the kind of personal touch you only find 
on Main Street.
  The Stephenson's story goes back to 1931, when the store first opened 
as a small, appointment-only dress shop in downtown Elkhart. Today, 
nearly a century later, it has grown into a fixture spanning three 
buildings, still rooted in that same stretch of Main Street where it 
all began.
  Danny's own story with the business started young. His parents took 
over Stephenson's in 1964, and Danny was practically raised in the 
stockroom, learning the trade from the ground up as a teenager. I have 
to think that's also where he picked up his sense of style, which I can 
personally attest to, having picked up clothing from Stephenson's 
myself.
  After finishing college in 1994, he came back home and never left, 
building on his family's legacy one customer at a time for more than 
thirty years since.
  But Danny's impact reaches well beyond downtown Elkhart. He has 
become a leading voice for retailers across this industry in the halls 
of Congress, helping connect policymakers with the realities of Main 
Street.
  Mr. Speaker, small businesses like Stephenson's are the heartbeat of 
our communities and the backbone of our local economies. With 36.2 
million small businesses across this country accounting for nearly half 
of all private-sector jobs, their impact reaches every corner of 
America, and Danny Reynolds is a shining example of what makes Main 
Street work.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Danny Reynolds on 
being named the 2026 America's Retail Champion, and in thanking him for 
his decades of service to Elkhart County and to Hoosiers across 
Indiana's 2nd District.

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