[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14518]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING HOLLY CLEGG

 Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, small businesses come in many 
different shapes and sizes. No matter their shape or size, one thing 
remains the same: small businesses are the brainchild of passionate 
individuals who seek to make their life and the lives of those in their 
community a better place. In this spirit, I would like to recognize 
Holly Clegg of Baton Rouge, LA, who took her passion for cooking and 
healthy eating and turned it into a business that has grown over the 
past 20-plus years.
  From an early age, Holly had a keen interest in cooking. Her passion 
and entrepreneurial spirit drove her to start her own catering company 
while she was still in high school. As a student at Tulane University 
in New Orleans, Holly continued to perfect her passion through various 
cooking classes at the university. Upon graduation, she attended the 
Cordon Bleu Cooking School in London and then Cordon Bleu in Paris. 
Following this formal training, Holly would marry unique Louisiana 
cuisine to the benefits of healthy eating in order to help people 
dealing with prevalent diseases and also launched and self-published a 
line of cookbooks. In 1993, after a local retail shop decided to stop 
selling cookbooks, Holly trailblazed her own road to success by 
promoting her first cookbook of the ``trim&TERRIFIC'' book series. 
Shortly after, she partnered with various organizations to develop 
cookbooks for heart patients, cancer patients, and arthritis patients. 
Having sold over 1 million cookbooks, her success has helped her gain 
notoriety, and she has appeared on various national media outlets to 
share her message of healthy eating.
  During the month of October, in which we recognize and celebrate 
women-owned small businesses, I find it fitting to honor a female 
entrepreneur like Holly Clegg for capturing her God-given talent and 
building a business that has benefited so many. Her entrepreneurial 
spirit and a commitment to her passion has helped Holly share tasty 
recipes all across the country and help everyday Americans struggling 
with crippling diseases to eat better while still enjoying the many 
flavors of Louisiana cuisine.
  Congratulations, Holly, and thank you for harnessing your talent and 
being a role model for all women entrepreneurs. Holly is just one of 
the many examples of female entrepreneurs taking their interests and 
talents and cultivating them into successful business opportunities, 
and for this, we honor her as Small Business of the Week.

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