[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9] [Senate] [Pages 12373-12374] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]RECOGNIZING GERALD PELLETIER INC. Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, this summer, thousands of Mainers and Americans will be drawn to the town of Millinocket to enjoy the natural beauty of Maine's outdoors. This year, however, they will also have the opportunity to enjoy the bountiful meals provided by the Pelletier family at the Pelletier Loggers Family Restaurant. Besides serving up hearty Maine cooking to locals and tourists alike, the Pelletier family performs the herculean task of delivering many thousands of cords of firewood each year to the people of Maine through their extensive logging operations. As such, I rise today to honor the Pelletier family and their small business, Gerald Pelletier, Inc., which has continued to embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship by providing critical jobs to rural Mainers as well as serving the people of our State for over 50 years. What began as a log hauling operation in 1954 by a father that wanted to put extra food on the table during the winter months, eventually developed into a successful logging operation employing family members and dozens of Mainers alike. Gerald Pelletier Inc., produces over 200,000 cords of firewood each year, much of which is hauled over the Golden Road, a treacherous logging highway cutting through the Maine woods to the Canadian border. The company's logging operation is carried out with the utmost care thanks to the training many of the workers receive through the Certified Logging Professionals program, which [[Page 12374]] trains and certifies loggers in safe, efficient, and environmentally sound logging practices. The company is also a member of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Maine Forest Products Council, and the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine. Today, with brothers Eldon and Rudy Pelletier at the helm, Gerald Pelletier Inc. has over 100 employees during the frigid winter months that, in addition to logging, build and maintain roads and bridges throughout Maine. Gerald Pelletier Inc. has become a very attractive operation thanks in large part to the television show American Loggers, which airs on the Discovery Channel. This popular show has catapulted the company into a bright spotlight, and thrust the family into a form of reality- stardom. Produced by a native son of Maine, the show portrays the struggles and successes of the family as it continues its work in one of Maine's most remarkable and historic industries. With this newfound nationwide appeal, Gerald Pelletier Inc. was recently able to undertake another entrepreneurial endeavor, the Pelletier Loggers Family Restaurant in Millinocket. Their restaurant serves up hearty Maine meals prepared from scratch to an array of locals and visitors alike. Customers can order from a wide variety of creatively titled menu items like the Moose on the Loose, a 10 oz. filet mignon, or for those interested in sampling fresh seafood, the Triple Trailer, which is a seafood medley of lobster, scallops and shrimp. While at the restaurant, customers from across the country can also get a true visual taste of the Maine logging experience. In front of the building, a tractor trailer truck can be seen bursting from the second floor. Inside, various tools used in the logging trade adorn the walls, including a rugged chainsaw that is stuck through one of the beams. Clearly, the Pelletiers have invested a great deal of effort in providing visitors with a thorough and fulfilling traditional experience. Truly, Gerald Pelletier Inc. embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that makes America so great. The Pelletier family has shown that a small business can succeed through hard work and personal sacrifice. I extend my congratulations to Rudy and Eldon Pelletier, the two coowners, and everyone at Gerald Pelletier Inc. for their remarkable enterprises, and offer my best wishes for their future success. ____________________