[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S62]]
                    RETIREMENT OF MR. JOHN L. SMITH

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, on February 27, 1998, the state of 
Illinois and our nation will lose a valuable public servant. After 23 
years as the Director of the United States Small Business 
Administration's (SBA) Chicago District Office, John L. Smith is 
retiring. It is my honor to commend him on a distinguished career of 
service to our nation.
  Mr. Smith began a 47-year public service career in 1951 with a 4 year 
stint in the United States Navy. Following his discharge, Mr. Smith 
attended the Robert Morris School in his hometown of Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania where he received a degree in Business Administration.
  In 1967, Mr. Smith began working in the civil service with the U.S. 
Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration where he 
worked as a loan specialist in several assignments throughout the East 
Coast. Prior to that, Mr. Smith had been the Director of Financial 
Assistance for the Business and Job Development Corporation in 
Pittsburgh.
  In 1973, Mr. Smith came to Chicago to serve as the Regional 
Administrator for the Commerce Department's Office of Minority Business 
Enterprise. In that position, Mr. Smith admirably directed activities 
in 10 states and managed over $5 million in grant and contract funds.
  In 1975, Mr. Smith began his long tenure as Director of the SBA's 
Chicago District Office. Over the past 23 years, he has managed the 
Chicago Office and a smaller branch office in Springfield. 
Additionally, he has been responsible for overseeing both offices' SBA 
loans, management assistance, government contracting, and advocacy 
programs for small businesses across Illinois. On his watch, small 
businesses in Illinois have received several billion dollars worth of 
loans and federal contracts.
  In addition to his professional successes, Mr. Smith and his wife 
have raised four adult children. John L. Smith has also worked to 
better his community and our nation through volunteering his time and 
abilities to organizations such as the American Heart Association, the 
Boy Scouts of America, the Kiwanis Club and the United Fund.
  Without a doubt, the citizens and the economy of the state of 
Illinois have benefitted greatly from John L. Smith's able and 
dedicated leadership. He leaves behind a strong and proud record of 
accomplishment at the Small Business Administration, as well as a 
remarkable career of government service. I wish him good luck and God's 
speed in all of his future endeavors.

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