House Bill 9485

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HR 9485

        By Representative Cosgrove






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution honoring Jacques and Yvette

  3         Laroche.

  4

  5         WHEREAS, Jacques and Yvette Laroche, a Haitian American

  6  husband and wife team noted for their persistence, creativity,

  7  and commitment to excellence, are the owners of the only

  8  African American full-service interior design team in South

  9  Dade, and

10         WHEREAS, Jacques and Yvette Laroche have been setting

11  the standard in home design since 1972, when they founded

12  their business, Unique Home Design, Inc., in Montreal, Canada,

13  and

14         WHEREAS, Jacques and Yvette Laroche relocated in Miami

15  in 1985, where today their one-stop decorating center

16  showcases hand-painted items exhibiting craftsmanship rarely

17  seen in department stores, and

18         WHEREAS, recognized for their perseverance despite the

19  destruction of their business by Hurricane Andrew in 1992,

20  Jacques and Yvette Laroche renewed their operation, using

21  their entire home as a factory for three years, and

22         WHEREAS, after much hard work and with a determination

23  to succeed, Jacques and Yvette Laroche purchased and repaired

24  a hurricane-damaged building and have expanded their business

25  into an eight-member staff with over $1 million in gross sales

26  annually, and

27         WHEREAS, having firmly established their operation as a

28  global competitor, with sales representatives in the Dominican

29  Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, Jacques and Yvette Laroche

30  have opened a store in Phoenix, Arizona, and have plans to

31  open franchises nationwide, and

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HR 9485

    141-457-98






  1         WHEREAS, no strangers to awards and honors, Jacques and

  2  Yvette Laroche have received accolades from local and national

  3  entities, lauding them for their outstanding contributions to

  4  the economy of the community, their commitment to service, and

  5  their extraordinary professional accomplishments, and, on

  6  February 3, 1998, the mayor of Miami-Dade County bestowed one

  7  further honor by proclaiming that day Unique Home Design Day,

  8  and

  9         WHEREAS, having already garnered six local, state, and

10  out-of-state awards during 1997, on November 22, 1997, Jacques

11  and Yvette Laroche were in attendance at the 15th Annual

12  National Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference when

13  their firm was named National Minority Retail Firm of the Year

14  by the United States Department of Commerce, NOW, THEREFORE,

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16  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

17  Florida:

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19         That the House of Representatives hereby commends

20  Jacques and Yvette Laroche for their remarkable

21  entrepreneurial acumen, commitment to excellence, and service

22  to their community and state.

23         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution

24  be presented to Jacques and Yvette Laroche as a tangible token

25  of the sentiments expressed herein.

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