[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 57 (Monday, May 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E773-E774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE METROPOLITAN FIRE SPRINKLER, LLC

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 2, 2011

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring the Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler, 
LLC, as the 2011 District of Columbia Small Business of the Year, and 
its founder and president, District of Columbia native Walter 
``Merrill'' Smith.
  After working in the fire protection industry for over 30 years, 
Merrill Smith started his own business, Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler, in 
2005, and in only a few years, has built one of the fastest growing and 
most successful small businesses in the District of Columbia. 
Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler, a minority-owned D.C. business, installs 
lire protection systems in buildings throughout the Washington 
metropolitan region. Most recently, Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler was 
successful in competing to install sprinkler systems in the vast Coast 
Guard building now under construction at the site of the future U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) headquarters, located on the old 
St. Elizabeths grounds. Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler had already 
established a stellar track record on large projects, including the 
National Naval Medical Center, Gaylord National Harbor, and the 
Washington Nationals Stadium garage.
  Merrill Smith sought to establish his own business not only for 
entrepreneurial reasons, but also because he wanted to provide jobs for 
residents in his hometown. His initial sources for employees are the 
District's Department of Employment Services, which serves D.C. 
residents seeking jobs, and the Road Sprinkler Fitters Local Union 669. 
Merrill Smith has embraced union labor and is about to train his first 
female apprentice.
  Merrill Smith first built his own skills, and then built a business 
based on his first-hand knowledge of the industry. In the process, he 
has become an inspiration for young people and unemployed residents, 
and a model for the community for what hard work, with high quality, 
can accomplish.
  Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler is rendering outstanding service to the 
larger community, to the small business community, and to individuals 
in our community, all at the same time. Merrill Smith's company makes 
important contributions to the District of Columbia economy. In 
competing successfully for contracts, particularly high-quality federal 
contracts such as the DHS project, Merrill Smith has become a living 
example for local small businesses that aim high. In searching for 
minority and union laborers, Metropolitan Fire Sprinkler is both

[[Page E774]]

training and employing a high-quality workforce.
  I ask the House to join me in honoring the Metropolitan Fire 
Sprinkler, LLC for its outstanding accomplishments as the 2011 District 
of Columbia Small Business of the Year, and its founder and president, 
Walter ``Merrill'' Smith.

                          ____________________