[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17117]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      CONGRATULATING TEA IMPORTERS

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I wish to congratulate a father 
and son team and their family from Westport, CT, whose company, Tea 
Importers, Inc., was recently recognized by Secretary of State Hillary 
Rodham Clinton with the 2012 Award for Corporate Excellence.
  Every year, the Secretary of State honors two American owned, global 
companies, that are both successful and humanitarian. They are 
companies doing well and doing good. This year, Joseph and Andrew 
Wertheim of Tea Importers, Inc. were celebrated as international 
leaders of fair trade standards, democratic principles, and diplomacy 
in the small-medium sized category. Intel Corporation received this 
year's award in the large business category.
  After escaping from Nazi Germany, Joseph Wertheim settled in 
Connecticut and began importing tea in 1953. Since then, he has grown 
his company and forged strong ties with customer tea companies in the 
United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 1960, he 
began working to market and import tea from Rwanda, and developed a 
particularly strong relationship with the Government of Rwanda, who 
requested that Mr. Wertheim partner with them in building a tea 
processing factory. What started as the first facility in a remote area 
in Kigali, Rwanda, has grown into the largest single producer of tea in 
the entire African nation.
  This tea factory named Sorwathe has helped the people of Rwanda make 
remarkable progress. Sorwathe ensures equal working conditions for its 
5,242 employees, guided by the principle that every small farmer is a 
stake holder. In addition, Sorwathe has assisted the Government of 
Rwanda in building roads, bringing in water, and working with the USAID 
to start schools and medical clinics. The Wertheims and Tea Importers 
have worked with Rotary International to teach literacy to at least 
15,000 adults, fund the town's public library, and provide high school 
scholarships. Their efforts have helped to ban child labor and 
facilitate collective bargaining agreements. Sorwathe has implemented 
environmentally sustainable agricultural practices, and organic 
farming, and formed alliances with important organizations in support 
of these efforts, to include the Rainforest Alliance and Ethical Tea 
Partnership. These accomplishments give you a sense of the spirit that 
guides this company that is financially successful, environmentally 
conscious, and socially aware.
  This small business of only six domestic employees in Westport has 
furthered American diplomacy around the world. As Secretary of State 
Clinton said in her address at last month's awards ceremonies, our 
businesses operating abroad are ``how millions and millions of people 
find out about our values, what we really stand for, what kind of 
people we are.'' I saw firsthand this spirit of inclusivity when I 
attended this awards ceremony. Video conferencing was set up to include 
both employees of Sorwathe and members of Intel's office in Vietnam 
inviting all members of those innovative ventures to be congratulated 
and acknowledged.
  I congratulate Joseph and Andrew Wertheim and all employees of Tea 
Importers, Inc. and Sorwathe in this well-deserved award, which 
highlights how a family-owned business can make an enormous impact on a 
global scale.

                          ____________________