Meet Bennie L. Thayer

Bennie L. Thayer is President and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE). Thayer has been with the NASE since 1987. As the owner of various small businesses in the retail and manufacturing industries for more than 25 years, Thayer has firsthand knowledge of the needs of the self-employed. Currently, he operates a small telecommunications firm in Washington, D.C.

He has a long-standing history of championing the needs of the self-employed. In addition to his work with the NASE, Thayer has chaired or served on the board of numerous local and national business associations covering economic development, credit development, small-business enhancement and general business growth. In this capacity, he has been called upon to meet with and advise Presidents Clinton, Bush and Reagan.

Thayer regularly testifies before House and Senate committees about small-business issues, and involves other small-business associations in coalitions to increase the voice of small-business representation. These coalition efforts have resulted in the introduction of several bills, which address the clarification of the home office deduction and the strengthening of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. He has also been a leading advocate in addressing the need for a permanent 100 percent health insurance deduction for the self-employed.

Thayer was the state chairman of the Maryland delegation to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business and currently serves as the regional implementation chairman. He previously served as the co-chairman of the Maryland Delegation to the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business.

Thayer does not let his commitment stop at the end of the business day. He considers community involvement to be as important as his commitment to small business. He is the Chairman of the Board, of Eagle Flight, Inc., a training and mentoring program for inner-city youths in East Orange, N.J. He has also had key leadership positions in several neighborhood and fraternal organizations.

Thayer is renowned as a public speaker and has appeared on various radio and television shows nationwide to increase awareness of the plight of the self-employed in today's economy. Additionally, he authored a book, We, The People: An American Solution to Health Care Reform, which examines health care issues from a small-business perspective.

Click here to read a message from Mr. Thayer.

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