Statements and Remarks
Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Eric G. John Amway National EXPO & Convention 2009 Saturday, January 17, 2009 Challenger Hall 3, Impact Muangthong Thani, Nonthaburi (As prepared for delivery)
Khun Preecha, Doug DeVos, Ladies and Gentlemen. My wife Sophia and I are delighted to be here this morning to help open the 2009 Amway National Expo and Convention. We also want to extend our congratulations to Amway on celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Amway is a true American success story. It’s remarkable when you look back 50 years at the company Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos founded in Michigan as a small distributor of nutritional products and compare it with what Amway has become today, a multi-billion dollar global company with over three million independent business owners in more than 80 countries around the world.
Amway’s success is based clearly on its unique entrepreneurial business model, which gives each business owner a stake in building the overall success of the company. Through hard work and constant innovation, Amway’s business owners have made the company a global leader in direct selling.
Over the past year, we have been celebrating 175 years of U.S.- Thai relations. Our relationship was forged in 1833 with the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. Today, here at Thailand’s biggest direct selling exposition featuring Thailand’s largest direct selling company, which happens to be American, we can see that the treaty has been a success. The United States has enjoyed strong commercial relations with Thailand for nearly two centuries, longer than any other country in Asia. These early business ties laid the groundwork for the close partnership our two countries share today, and it’s certainly true that the United States has no better friend and ally in the region than Thailand.
In addition to reaping the benefits of trade, American companies in Thailand understand that they have a responsibility to act as good corporate citizens and, through their corporate social responsibility programs, work hard to ensure that they live up to that responsibility. Sophia and I have a strong interest in supporting these types of programs in Thailand and we recognize that Amway is a leader in this area with programs that assist needy schools, provide audio books to the visually disabled, deliver healthcare to disadvantaged children, and grant scholarships to deserving high school students. Amway has also worked closely with Operation Smile, helping thousands of Thai children around the country receive the care and treatment they need to live happy and healthy lives. I applaud Amway and all the Amway business owners on your dedication to corporate social responsibility.
In closing, I want to thank you all again for inviting Sophia and me to attend this opening ceremony. We wish you all the best with the 2009 Amway National Expo and, once again, we congratulate Amway on its 50th anniversary and wish you all the best in the New Year.