[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7990]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 7990]]


                 CELEBRATING A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. BARCIA

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 29, 1999

  Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure today to honor a 
dedicated father of four wonderful children and three grandchildren, a 
loyal and supportive friend, an outstanding humanitarian and a fiercely 
focused hardworking self-made entrepreneur, respected by all of his 
peers, Paul Mark Monea.
  Paul was born in the beautiful countryside of Ohio to George and 
Sylvia Monea, immigrants from Romania and Switzerland, respectively. 
George Monea missed his date with destiny by being two days late for 
the ill-fated Titanic on which he was scheduled to travel. Paul's 
parents always taught and instilled the virtues of honesty, integrity 
and family values. Although some individuals and trusted professional 
advisors over the years have taken incredible unfair advantage of Paul 
and his family, he has always stood by his upbringing motto, ``right 
will always ultimately win out.''
  Today I join Paul's children, Andrew, Michele, Brooke and Blake, his 
three grandchildren, Alex, Sean, and Brandon, his family friends and 
confidants Daniel, Sharie, Richard, Walter and Nora Bohlmann together 
with a host of supporters over the years to salute Paul Monea's triumph 
over incalculable odds. Paul's family and true friends have always 
stood by him over the years; a tribute to his honesty and integrity in 
working with his fellow colleagues. Paul proudly notes that his 
favorite pastime is spending time with his children and grandchildren.
  Charitable and community support in a silent behind the scenes 
fashion has always been Paul's style. As a young businessman, Paul 
mustered the support of his fellow Hobby Industry Association members 
to contribute on a per mile basis for his walk-a-thon dedication to the 
Muscular Dystrophy of America. Paul walked 28 straight days, over 400 
miles from Louisville, Ohio to King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and raised 
well over $25,000, all without any desire for personal publicity. This 
year marks the 25th Anniversary of that noteworthy event where Paul in 
his true reserved fashion is silently supporting Walk-A-Thon and other 
charitable events in his mid-west area. Paul has formed the Paul Monea 
Family Charitable Foundation, to benefit programs targeted to assisting 
our youth in a better quality of life and the elderly to live in 
dignity. Paul's challenge to the young people of America is: ``Focus on 
the future with honesty, integrity, and a spirit of innovation in your 
hearts.''
  Paul Monea is widely recognized as the World's leading trendsetter in 
state of the art, multi-level marketing and informercial programs. 
TaeBo, starring Billy Blanks, was the mastermind informercial creation 
of Paul who in his typical humble style gives credit for this 
phenomenal success story to everyone except himself. Incidentally, 
Johnny Unser, driving his father's ``retired'' number 92 will drive the 
``Tae-Bo'' race car at this year's Indy 500 in honor of America's 
National Fitness month. Prior to TaeBo, Paul originated the 2 for 1 
Dine out Programs, ``The Stimulator,'' pain relief product promotions, 
``My Little Angel,'' children's programs, and the ``Super Salsa'' 
machine for gourmets. Monea Publishing company is also the distributor 
of works done by artist Sharie Hatchett Bohlmann, who created the art 
commemorating the 1987 White House Easter Egg Roll. Always vigilant to 
offer to the world products which make life safer, cleaner, healthier 
and less troublesome, Paul is currently producing a ``Stop Smoking'' 
program that has proven results.
  Paul has never been a political person and those around Paul Monea 
are frequently reminded by him that his work is never about making 
money. On the contrary, it is always about providing a better way of 
life for others. This inward desire to provide innovative products 
because, ``It's the right thing to do,'' puts Paul Monea in a class by 
himself.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite you and our colleagues to join me in 
recognizing one of America's business leaders and legends, Paul Mark 
Monea. We salute him on his special day and thank him for the countless 
millions of people around the World whose lives he has made better 
because of his dedication to mankind.

                          ____________________