In Memory of Frederick W. Smith, Jr.

Floor Speech

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Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to appear here.

In Memphis, one of our great leaders in the State of Tennessee, in the United States of America, and the world, in fact, was Frederick W. Smith, Jr.

Fred Smith died suddenly this past weekend. He was 80 years old.

Fred Smith started a business called FedEx, the largest air cargo system in the world. He started it with an idea that he came up with at Yale University and made it a paper. The paper didn't get a very good grade, but the people of the world judged it as A-plus, and everything about Fred Smith was A-plus.

He was just a regular, decent human being and a good guy. He was always available. He never made you think he was a big titan of business or a leader of industry in the world. He was just somebody who was interested in what you had to talk to him about, and he would offer his advice.

In Memphis, he did have his hand in just about everything. Our basketball arena, FedExForum, has made the city the home of an NBA team. That is because of Fred Smith. Our college football team plays in Liberty Stadium. He has pledged $50 million to improve that stadium and bring it up to higher standards. We have a golf tournament that is the FedEx St. Jude Golf Classic.

He had his hand in every good thing in Memphis from education, zoos, and the civil rights museum. It is a big loss to Memphis. It is a big loss to Tennesseans. It is a big loss to Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. DesJarlais and Mr. Burchett for joining me up here. I ask everyone to stand for a moment of silence in the memory of Frederick W. Smith, Jr., a life well lived.

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