[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO SIMEON TERRY, NATIONAL MINORITY BUSINESS ADVOCATE OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2005

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to 
recognize today, Simeon O. Terry, Minority Business Enterprise Program 
Administrator for Austin Commercial L.P. in Dallas, who received the 
National Minority Business Advocate Award from the Minority Business 
Development Agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce on September 12, 
2005.
  Simeon Terry received this honor, in part, for his work as Minority 
Business Enterprise Program Administrator for Austin Commercial L.P. 
which is headquartered in my district. He is well known for his efforts 
to build minority business enterprises (MBE) that promote the inclusion 
of minority and women entrepreneurs in the Dallas business community 
while enhancing growth opportunities for minorities and women.
  Simeon's background consists of a degree in Industrial & Safety 
Engineering and over 15 years in the construction industry. He has 
spent 7 years in the residential construction industry as a Safety 
Manager, Project Manager, and Operations Manager. In each position he 
had the opportunity to procure contracts with MBE firms both in 
specific construction scopes and supplies.
  During his term as a Project Manager, over 80 percent of his 
contracts were established with MBE firms. Simeon also spent 3 years as 
a Surety Support Program Manager Consultant where he assisted MBE firms 
in becoming ``bond ready'', ultimately achieving bonding which would 
allow them to pursue various construction projects as prime 
contractors.
  He also facilitated safety workshops for small MBE firms and provided 
consulting to review or establish their in-house safety programs to 
ensure that they had met the required safety programs for commercial 
construction. Simeon has consulted on numerous housing development 
projects in Dallas for non-profit organizations. He assisted local MBE 
contractors with project management and project administration duties 
such as estimating, scheduling, document control, certified payroll and 
project inspection.
  Simeon is actively involved in his church where he teaches youth 
Bible Study, and plays the bass guitar for several choirs. He is also 
an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers, the 
National Society of Black MBAs, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
  Mr. Speaker, this Nation's small business community needs more giving 
individuals like Simeon Terry. His work has contributed much to making 
Dallas a better place to live for everyone.
  I am proud to represent him in the U.S. House of Representatives and 
wanted to bring his many accomplishments to the attention of my 
colleagues.

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