John Thune: “it is my privilege this evening as well to pay tribute as we are this week to the small business entrepreneurs in our…”

“it is my privilege this evening as well to pay tribute as we are this week to the small business entrepreneurs in our country, those who continue to drive the economic engine that makes this the greatest economy in the world. I have some personal history with that. My grandfather came to this country from Norway back around the turn of the century to pursue his American dream, and he and my great uncle, who did not speak a word of English, came through Ellis Island, ended up in the middle of South Dakota, and went into the hardware business and had the opportunity like so many people at that time who came here, the freedom to succeed and the freedom as well to fail. But they came here because the opportunity existed in America. The South Dakota landscape just abounds with wonderful stories of entrepreneurial success, people who have taken risks. Some have succeeded, some have failed. But many out there have been willing to move forward in a way that will continue to advance the American dream in this country, and I look at countless examples of those, and particularly in my State of South Dakota most of the businesses in our State are small businesses. We are a State which consists of many small towns and many main streets, and without those small businesses our State would not have the economic life that it does. It is our life blood. So this evening and this week we have paid tribute to those many people.”