[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12667-12668]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO GENE AND CAROLE VUKELIC ON THEIR 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2008

  Mr. HIGGINS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. and Mrs. 
Gene and Carole Vukelic on their 50th wedding anniversary.
  Gene and Carole have raised seven children, and their five sons, 
Paul, Jeff, Tim, Peter, and Matthew, all work for Try-It Distributing, 
the company Gene's father started in 1928 and a recipient of the 
Canisius College Center for Entrepreneurship Family Business of the 
Year.
  A devoted Western New Yorker, Gene was raised in Lackawanna, New York 
and attended Canisius High School and LeMoyne College in Syracuse. The 
son of a Croatian immigrant, Gene learned the value of hard work and 
tenacity in the face of adversity from his father, Stephen. Stephen 
only went to school until the sixth grade and worked wherever he could, 
including at the Bethlehem Steel plant in Lackawanna. According to 
Gene, however, Stephen Vukelic was ``an entrepreneur at heart''. When 
he was 28 years old, Stephen opened the Try-It Bottling Works company 
in a small building with one truck, and started bottling soft drinks in 
Lackawanna. Today, Try-It Distributing Co., Inc. is a hugely successful 
beverage firm.
  Gene has carried on his father's spirit of entrepreneurship and is 
now Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Try-It Distributing 
Company. His five sons work with him to develop the business their 
great grandfather started 80 years ago.
  Madam Speaker, it is a great honor for me to recognize Gene and 
Carole Vukelic for their tenacity, passion, and dedication to the 
Western New York community. I would like to offer my sincere 
congratulations in celebration of their 50 golden years together, and 
extend my best wishes to the Vukelics and their family on their 50th 
wedding anniversary.

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