[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28956]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING CALVIN BRIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 1, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Calvin Bright 
for his tremendous contributions to promoting housing and development 
in the Central Valley. Mr. Bright is being honored at the Greater 
Yosemite Council Boy Scouts of America's Annual Distinguished Citizens 
Dinner on October 28, 2009, in Modesto, California.
  Calvin Bright was born on September 17, 1920, in Beggs, Oklahoma, to 
Ed and Cora Bright. He was raised on the family farm with his three 
siblings and a cousin. He spent his childhood in school or working on 
his family's farm where they raised farm animals, grew row crops, and 
farmed a large family garden. He graduated from Beggs High School 
having lettered in football and participated in the 4H Club. He joined 
the National Guard when he was 14, but due to a hip injury, he was 
unable to go overseas and fight in the war. Instead, Mr. Bright 
attended Oklahoma A&M and graduated with a degree in horticulture.
  In 1940, Mr. Bright married his high school sweetheart, Marjorie 
Hensley. They attended Oklahoma A&M together and moved to California in 
1942. Upon arriving in California, Mr. Bright built and managed a five-
unit apartment complex in Hayward. This was his first California 
building project. In 1956 Mr. and Mrs. Bright founded Bright Foods in 
Turlock, which manufactured pre-prepared frozen foods, such as pies and 
TV dinners. Bright Foods was the first pre-prepared food processing 
plant of its type west of the Rockies. Bright Foods operated 24 hours a 
day and employed approximately 400 full-time employees.
  Mr. Bright established Western Fruit Packers in Brigham City, Utah, 
in 1959. The company was a cherry packing plant and provided fruit for 
his cherry pies manufactured in Turlock, California. The following year 
he founded C.S.C. Refrigeration, a company that froze and stored the 
product, and Mistletoe Express, a trucking company that delivered the 
finished frozen product to 11 western States. In 1966, Bright Foods and 
FM Stamper Company merged to create a national distribution system. The 
new company was named Banquet Foods and was sold to RCA in 1969. When 
Banquet Foods sold, Mr. Bright left the food processing industry and 
entered the housing industry, full time.
  In 1968, Mr. Bright founded B&H Manufacturing, an international 
company that designs and manufactures high-speed, roll-fed labeling 
machines that place labels on containers for major companies, such as 
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Clorox, and other household products. In 1971, he 
incorporated Bright Development in Modesto and began to build single 
family homes, townhomes, and apartment projects throughout the Central 
Valley. Bright Development has also been active in the construction of 
commercial office buildings. Woodside Management Group was also 
established in 1971 by Mr. Bright to professionally manage the 
apartment projects built by Bright Development. Mr. Bright has been 
named ``Builder of the Year'' by the Building Association of Central 
California, twice. He has been a member of the Building Industry 
Association of Central California since 1979 and he served over 20 
years on the board of directors and is a past president. In 1994 he was 
honored by the California Building Industry Foundation for his 
contributions to the professionalism of the industry and has been 
inducted into the California Building Industry Hall of Fame.
  Mr. and Mrs. Bright established the Bright Family Foundation in 1987 
for the purpose of making a contribution to the health and well-being 
of youth and families in the Central Valley. Over the years the 
foundation has provided grants to sponsor the Nature Series on KVIE, 
medical internships at the University of California Medical Center, 
Hospice, the Children's Crisis Center, and scholarships for students 
from local high schools to attend Modesto Junior College, University of 
California, Merced, and California State University, Stanislaus.
  Mr. Bright has been associated with the Yosemite Area Council of Boy 
Scouts for over 20 years. He has served on the board of directors and 
has been honored with the Silver Beaver Award in 1994. He was also 
honored by the Boy Scouts of America in 2004.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Calvin Bright for the 
impact that he has made on the building industry in the Central Valley 
and the State of California. I invite my colleagues to join me in 
wishing him continued success.

                          ____________________