[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 11, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              IN RECOGNITION OF FRANK TRUJILLO BALLESTEROS

                                 ______


                          HON. SAM COPPERSMITH

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 1994

  Mr. COPPERSMITH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Frank 
Trujillo Ballesteros, whom the U.S. Small Business Administration has 
selected as the Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year.
  Mr. Ballesteros serves as the executive director of Micro Industry 
Credit Rural Organization [MICRO], a program of the Microbusiness and 
Housing Development Corporation in Tucson, AZ. MICRO combines public 
and private funds to provide credit and assistance to small, family-
owned businesses in southern Arizona and southern California. From 1987 
through 1993, MICRO lent close to $2 million to more than one thousand 
different small businesses.
  Mr. Ballesteros also helped arrange for $100,000 in seed capital from 
the Ford Foundation, and then worked with Bank One, Arizona, to 
guarantee microenterprise loans--very small loans to small businesses--
in Arizona. Under his guidance, MICRO specializes in microlending to 
companies generally started by Hispanics, particularly women-owned 
businesses.
  Mr. Ballesteros does not just make loans, he builds relationships. He 
has business materials translated into Spanish for his clients, and he 
often volunteers to sell the arts and crafts of MICRO artisans. His 
loans are generally a series of very small and very short-term loans; 
the average maturity is 6 months. By building a cycle of successful 
loans and repayments, he and his borrowers come to know and trust each 
other. His cultural sensitivity also helps him understand his clients 
and aid their business success. For these reasons, MICRO has a loan-to-
default rate of a stunningly low 3 percent.
  All of Mr. Ballesteros' work does more than just build businesses. He 
also helps to build communities. He encourages local Chambers of 
Commerce to distribute information about microbusinesses, and never 
misses a chance to tout the importance of microbusiness to the health 
of the local and national economies.
  Most importantly, Frank Trujillo Ballesteros empowers people. He 
helps people take charge of their economic destiny--the heart of the 
American dream. The SBA rightfully has recognized his efforts and his 
success, and I am pleased to join them in saluting Frank Ballesteros as 
the Nation's Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year.

                          ____________________