[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 127 (Monday, September 8, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING TERESA LAWRENCE

 Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, I wish today to honor Teresa 
Lawrence, CEO of Delta Personnel and the 2014 recipient of the 
Excelencia Award for Small Business Leadership by the Hispanic Chamber 
of Commerce of Louisiana.
  Teresa was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 1973 to 
escape tyranny. She came here with her mother, brother, and 
grandmother. Tragically, her father was unable to join the family in 
leaving Cuba and was killed 4 years later.
  Teresa's mother, along with her grandmother, instilled in her a 
strong work ethic. She began working at the age of 14 by bagging 
groceries, and eventually worked her way up to the position of 
advertising account executive. She attended college for 2 years until 
her mother was injured and needed her help. Teresa then took a full 
time job at a large architectural firm to help support the family. She 
said this position helped sharpen her skills and expand her vocabulary.
  In 1988, Teresa married David Lawrence, whose family owned and 
operated a staffing agency, Delta Temporaries. That same year, the 
business was struggling and her father-in-law was diagnosed with 
Parkinson's disease, so David and Teresa quit their jobs and began 
running the company. With no formal training in the staffing 
profession, they spent years trying to run the business, get out of 
debt, and just survive.
  In 2000, Teresa became the sole owner of Delta Personnel. Just when 
she felt she had really turned things around, the community was 
devastated by Hurricane Katrina, which brought immeasurable changes not 
only to her business, but also to southeast Louisiana. Through a lot of 
hard work, Teresa and her staff were able to re-open the business in 
Baton Rouge before eventually being able to locate the business back 
home in Metairie.
  Teresa is known as a great leader who places an emphasis on 
empowering her staff to make decisions needed to help their business 
grow and thrive. She participated in and graduated from the Goldman 
Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in New Orleans in March of 2012. 
Since joining 10,000 Small Businesses, her company has more than 
doubled their sales from $2.3 million with expectations to exceed $5 
million this year. Teresa says the great reward is that she and her 
staff have placed more than 950 people in jobs across the Gulf Coast.
  I am pleased to join with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of 
Louisiana in honoring Teresa Lawrence.

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