[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 19723]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 TO HONOR MR. FRANK RIVERA AND ALT INC. AS A RECIPIENT OF THE NATIONAL 
                   MINORITY SERVICE FIRM OF THE YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. ED PASTOR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 9, 2001

  Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you today to draw attention to 
one of my constituents, Mr. Frank Rivera, and his business, ATL, Inc., 
which recently was selected to receive the National Minority Service 
Firm of the Year Award by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority 
Business Development Agency. Mr. Rivera was presented with this award 
in September during the 19th Annual National Minority Enterprise 
Development Week Conference.
  Mr. Rivera, President and CEO of ATL, Inc., was selected to receive 
this honor because of his achievements and the role he has played to 
further the progress of minority business development. This award is a 
great honor, as Mr. Rivera competed with 32 nominees from nine states. 
He then was selected from a pool of regional winners from around the 
country for the National Minority Service Firm of the Year Award.
  Minority Enterprise Development Week is an annual national 
celebration in recognition of the contributions made by minority 
businesses to the nation's economy. It is the largest federally-
sponsored activity held on behalf of minority business development and 
attracts the participation of both public and private sector officials.
  To give you some background on Mr. Rivera, he was born in 1944 in a 
small mining community of Globe, Arizona. The community at that time 
was segregated with the Caucasian land owners living on one side of 
town and the Hispanic mine workers living on the other side. Frank's 
father worked hard in the copper mines and the local utility company so 
Frank could have better opportunities for his life. The senior Mr. 
Rivera wanted the young Mr. Rivera to have career options and knew that 
only an excellent education could provide his son with the 
opportunities he never had. Mr. Rivera's mother, a homemaker, instilled 
her religious roots and an appreciation for his Hispanic culture into 
her son, that gave him his religious and cultural roots.
  In 1968, the young Mr. Rivera graduated from Arizona State University 
with a Bachelor's of Science degree in construction management. He 
would then go on to amass experience working for various construction 
firms. In March 1988, Mr. Rivera accepted a position at ATL, Inc., 
overseeing material testing and inspection for a light rail project 
with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. Upon completion of 
this assignment, Frank Rivera was offered the opportunity to purchase 
ATL, Inc. He marshaled his resources and in October of 1992, Frank and 
his partner David Hayes purchased ATL, Inc.
  Mr. Rivera had a vision for ATL, Inc. He wanted to make it the best 
materials testing and geotechnical-engineering consultant in the state. 
Under his direction, he took the $800,000 annual business and grew it 
into a multi-million dollar firm. ATL's annual sales now top $4 million 
and will exceed $5 million annually within the next two years. Since 
1992, it has grown to employ 57 people and currently is seeking more 
qualified engineers and technicians.
  In addition to the success he has experience with ATL, Mr. Rivera has 
become a well-respected leader who has volunteered for numerous roles 
on various organizations. He is a Commissioner on the City of Phoenix 
Human Relations Commission and also Chairs its Business Development 
Committee. He is Chairman of the Associated Minority Contractors of 
America, Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Arizona Hispanic 
Chamber of Commerce and Chairs its Public Policy Committee. He also is 
a member of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Contractors of 
America and the Valley of the Sun YMCA. In addition, he is a member of 
the Grand Canyon Minority Supplier Development Council, American 
Society of Professional Estimators, Society of American Military 
Engineers, American Welding Society, American Society for 
Nondestructive Testing and the Arizona State University Industry 
Advisory Council.
  As you can tell Mr. Speaker, this award bestowed on Mr. Rivera and 
his company was earned through hard work and is well deserved. I ask 
you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. Frank Rivera and 
ATL, Inc.




                          ____________________