[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING RONNIE BARRETT FOR BEING NAMED A 2006 ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART GORDON

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. GORDON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ronnie Barrett 
for being named a 2006 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Ronnie 
is a friend and a resident of my hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 
He is the president and founder of Barrett Firearms and with this 
award, he is now eligible for the title of National Entrepreneur of the 
Year at the annual awards held in November.
  Entrepreneurship is nothing new to Ronnie. Twenty-five years ago, he 
was a professional photographer with his own business and an idea of 
how to build a better rifle. Using engineering skills he taught 
himself, he labored in his garage workshop and by 1987, he held a 
patent for his invention, .50 caliber rifle that could be shoulder-
fired.
  Since then, Ronnie has become the premier manufacturer of .50 caliber 
rifles. In 1989, Sweden became the first country to sign a military 
contract for his rifles, and more than 50 other countries have done the 
same. Today, his customers range from sportsmen to the U.S. military. 
In fact, the U.S. Army last year named his M107 rifle as one of the 
``Ten Greatest Inventions.''
  I wish Ronnie all the best at the national awards, and I wish him 
many more years of success.

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