Bennett, R-Utah, told a crowd of about 1,100 attending the 10th annual Utah 100 Awards at downtown Salt Lake City's Grand America Hotel that, being a former businessman, he is in a decided minority in the Senate.
Some 75 percent of the current senatorial roster consists of attorneys, Bennett said. And while he praised his colleagues' commitment to public service, Bennett argued their legal training made them resistant to change.
"Attorneys always look for precedents . . . how things were done in the past," he said. "The entrepreneur looks . . . for opportunities.
"That kind of thinking is leaven for the lump that I think we could use a little more of" in Washington," Bennett added.
Utah's junior senator is seeking a third term against the challenge of Democrat Paul Van Dam - but he reserved what political rhetoric he had Thursday for fellow Sen. John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat seeking to unseat the incumbent, President Bush.
Bennett criticized Kerry's proposal to increase income taxes for individuals making more than $200,000 a year, contending it would hurt many small businesses, which use the same tax form and bring in similar amounts of revenue.
"I wish Sen. Kerry understood that," he said.
A former chief executive of Franklin International Institute, Bennett said that only the creative minds of America's business innovators and savvy investors stand between the United States and the rest of an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Raw materials, labor and capital are now available anywhere, the senator said. "The one paramount advantage America has . . . is there is no country in the world with the same entrepreneurial spirit. That same entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the state of Utah."
A prime example: iboats.com, a Draper company catering to the needs of recreational boating, fishing and water-sports enthusiasts. Founded in 1998 by Bruno Vassel III and his son, Bruno Vassel IV, iboats.com was the top finisher on the MountainWest Venture Group's list of the 100 fastest-growing Utah companies for 2004.
How can a small company in the middle of a landlocked state become a player in boating and water leisure products? The World Wide Web, said the elder Vassel.
"The secret of the Internet is you can do it anywhere, sell to people anywhere," he said. "Getting online opens you up to the whole world, and we are an example of that. We make less than 1 percent of our sales in the state of Utah."
While specific individual earnings and growth figures were not released for the winners, MountainWest Venture Group did say this year's crop was the wealthiest ever. The 100 finalists averaged five-year growth rates of 1,228 percent - up from 887 percent in 2003.
The top five placers - besides iboat.com, Internet closeout retailer Overstock.com (No. 2) and (3) hotel broadband services provider STSN Inc., both of Salt Lake City; Orem's HobbyTron.com (4), and USA Lending Group (5), a Salt Lake City financial services firm - averaged 10,000 percent growth from 1998 to 2003.
Several companies made return appearances on the Utah 100, highlighted by eight-timer Body Firm Aerobics (39 this year) and seven-time winners Document Control Systems (95), Prime Holdings Insurance Inc. (52) and Stampin' Up (92).
Zions Bancorp., Questar Corp. and SkyWest Airlines were the top three finishers in the Top Revenue Growth Companies list for 2004, while Axis41, a Salt Lake City marketing communications agency, capped the Emerging Elite Companies listing.
bmims@sltrib.com
