September 5, 2003:
When President George Bush announced he was going to visit Indianapolis in September, he said he would be speaking in the 300,000 square foot warehouse of a small company called Langham. People asked why? What is Langham? What sets them apart? And who is Cathy Langham?
The President wanted to promote the Jobs and Growth Act, a 10-year, $350 billion tax cut he signed into law that is advantageous to small businesses. And Langham fit the bill. Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business had mentioned her name to the White House Eventually an administration official called her to find out more about the company. When we found out for sure he was coming it got very, very exciting at Langham. The advance team came on August 31st and the U.S. Secret Service arrived the next day to secure the building. There was a week to make all of this happen. Cathy requested that she have some time to speak with the President alone. She was met with dead silence from the other end of line. Finally, the administration official asked, “What do you want to talk about with him?”
After the speech, she and her brother John and sister Margaret, who are co-owners, joined him in the company break room to talk about cargo security and how the administration was helping small business grow. He then went into the company boardroom to talk to three couples about the child tax credit.
“He made good eye contact and listened,” Cathy says. “I really felt he heard what we were saying. He was genuinely nice and interested about what we were saying.” It was a great honor and great experience. People still come up to Cathy and remember that event.
