[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATING MR. ROBERT A. REYNOLDS, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. W. TODD AKIN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 1, 2007

  Mr. AKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mr. Robert A. 
Reynolds, Jr., an exceptional leader from my district in St. Louis, 
Missouri. Since 2000, Bob has served as President and CEO of Graybar 
Electric Co., Inc, a Fortune 500 company employing nearly 8,000 men and 
women at more than 250 distribution centers in the U.S., Canada, 
Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
  Prior to his election as Chairman of the Board at Graybar in 2001, 
Bob served in various capacities at the company. He joined Graybar in 
1972 as an office salesman, was transferred to the Philadelphia unit as 
a sales representative in 1977 and was later appointed manager of the 
national consumer products accounts at corporate headquarters in 1979. 
After serving as a branch manager in New York and Connecticut, he was 
appointed district manager in Seattle. Bob eventually became Vice 
President of Communications Markets and Vice President of Communication 
and Data Business before he was named Senior Vice President of 
Electrical Business in 2000. During his tenure as President and CEO, 
Graybar was on the Fortune America's Most Admired Companies list for 
six consecutive years.
  Bob's leadership over the years has proven invaluable not only to 
Graybar, but to the community as a whole. He currently serves on the 
boards of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, the Boy 
Scouts of Greater Saint Louis, the United Way of Greater Saint Louis, 
the Saint Louis Club, the Log Cabin Club, Civic Progress of Saint 
Louis, and the Saint Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association. He 
is the former Chairman of the Board at the National Association of 
Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) and now serves as Past Chairman of the 
Board.
  I am pleased to be able to honor Robert A. Reynolds, Jr. today. He is 
a remarkable example of the great leadership we have in Missouri and I 
know all of my colleagues join me in wishing he and his family the very 
best as he finishes his service at NAW.

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