[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVE THOMAS

  (Ms. PRYCE of Ohio asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PRYCE of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man 
we all know as Dave, a man blessed with an extraordinary knack for 
business and a heart of gold. Sadly, we lost him to cancer only a few 
weeks ago.
  Dave Thomas personifies the American dream, that a young person of 
humble beginnings can and should dream big. And that he did, by 
creating the third largest fast-food chain in the world.
  Dave's devotion to his business was surpassed by only one thing, his 
great love for children. As an adopted child, Dave felt so fortunate to 
have been given a loving family to care for him. He wanted to see other 
children experience this joy.
  Dave took his passion and turned it into something extraordinary. In 
1992, he founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to serve as a 
voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. The foundation is 
based in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
  I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with 
Dave in our joint effort to bring children and families together and 
make the process of adoption easier.
  Dave once said, ``If I can get just one child a home, it would be 
better than selling 1 million hamburgers.''
  Well, Dave, you did just that, and more. You are a true class act, 
one who will be sorely missed, but remembered by all for generations.

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