[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5010-S5011]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RECOGNIZING CHEMTRACK ALASKA

 Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, this week, I have the opportunity 
to introduce the U.S. Senate Small Business of the Week. Small 
businesses provide essential services to our Nation's communities. In 
my home State of Alaska, I have seen firsthand small businesses that 
contribute to the local economy and step in when a community is in 
need. It is my honor to name ChemTrack Alaska of Anchorage, AK, as the 
Senate Small Business of the Week.
  ChemTrack was founded as a construction company by Sig Jokiel in 
1973. Shortly after its inception, the company shifted focus and 
rebranded itself into an environmental services and engineering company 
when Chuck Ronan joined the team in 1985. After studying business at 
the University of New Hampshire, Sig's daughter, Carrie, joined the 
company in 2002. Carrie, who became the company's majority partner in 
2010, brought business expertise and project management skills to 
ChemTrack. Throughout the company's 46-year history, it has contracted 
with the U.S. Air Force, Alaska Railroad Corporation, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, BP, Exxon, 
and many other government institutions and businesses. In 2019, 
ChemTrack was awarded the Women-Owned Small Business of the Year Award 
by the SBA in recognition of its outstanding achievements.
  ChemTrack's commitment to developing creative environmental 
engineering solutions enables the company to contribute to local 
projects in Alaska's great outdoors. As a successful contractor and a 
certified 8(a) economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business, 
ChemTrack has completed projects for both private businesses and 
government clients. ChemTrack helped clean up Alaska's shorelines after 
the Exxon Valdez oilspill in 1989 by developing innovative, barge-
mounted sweeps to clean sea water. As a testament to ChemTrack's 
environmental stewardship, the company was awarded a basic ordering 
agreement by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2012, enabling them to provide 
containment cleanup and mitigate the harmful effects of oil spills and 
hazardous substance incidents all over the state of Alaska.
  Carrie is renowned as an advocate for small businesses at both the 
Federal and State level. During her testimony in front of the Senate 
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in June 2018, Carrie 
discussed the SBA's contracting programs and provided insight on her 
experience operating a woman-owned small business. As a graduate of the 
SBA Emerging Leaders program, Carrie is very active in her community 
and even mentors other Alaskan businesses through the Women's Power 
League of Alaska. Carrie's distinction as a local leader is evidenced 
by her inclusion in the Alaska

[[Page S5011]]

Journal of Commerce's Top 40 Under 40 list of 2014 and her selection as 
the 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year Award.
  Back home in Alaska, Carrie serves on the Associated General 
Contractors board of directors, as well as the Boards for Women 
Impacting Public Policy and the Alaska State Hockey Association. She 
also completed a 6-year term with YWCA, where she served as president 
for 2 years, and is a member of the Society of American Military 
Engineers and National Contracting Management Association. Carrie's 
abilities as an athlete complement her business skills. She was 
inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at the University of New 
Hampshire in 2014 and served as an Ambassador for Women's Ice Hockey in 
Fast and Female International Program.
  ChemTrack has successfully pursued a two-pronged mission of profit 
and stewardship. By employing its engineering proficiency to aid in 
disaster recovery, ChemTrack has shown us what can be achieved when 
individuals and businesses apply their specific skills to help better 
their community.
  ChemTrack has grown from a small construction company to a successful 
environmental engineering contractor with a clear track record of 
community involvement. I am honored to recognize Carrie and the entire 
team at ChemTrack Alaska as the Senate Small Business of the Week, and 
I look forward to watching your continued growth and success.

                          ____________________