The 6th Annual Procurement and Contracting Symposium was held at the
El Paso Community College’s Administrative Services Center on February 26th
and 27th, 2009. The theme of this years Symposium was “Building
Alliances-2009 & Beyond”. For the first time it was a regional event and
attracted participants throughout the state of Texas, Alabama, Southern New
Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and California.
Though the Contract Opportunities Center was the lead element in the planning
and organization of the Symposium, representatives of the El Paso Small Business
Consortium which consists of Accion Texas, City of El Paso, Economic
Development, El Paso 8(a) Government Contractors Association the Local Chambers
of Commerce, the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE), University of Texas
at El Paso and Workforce Solutions (Upper Rio Grande at Work) participated in
the planning, program development and promotion of the event.
The Procurement and Contracting Symposium is made possible through the generous
and continued support of its sponsors. This years sponsors included the El Paso
Community College, The El Paso Electric Company, Casa Carpet Tile & Wood
Distributors, Abrams, Centennial Contractors Enterprises, Inc., Magnum Opus
Technologies, SPECTRUM imaging systems, Western Industrial Resources
Corporation, Fort Bliss Water Services Co., OfficeMax, Campos Roofing &
Construction L.L.C., RT Electric, Inc. and Granite Construction Company. Other
supporting organizations were the El Paso District Office of the U.S. Small
Business Administration, The Dona Ana Community College’s Small Business
Development Center and the El Paso Community College’s Small Business
Development Center.
This year was also the first time that the Symposium was held over two days. The
second day was focused on Women Businesses in government contracting. On each of
the days, firms had the opportunity to network with each other and establish
alliances with federal, state and local agency representatives. On the first day
of the Symposium, 299 persons attended the Symposium and had the opportunity to
meet with 57 representatives of agencies and prime contractors. On day two, 187
persons registered.
Support for the Symposium was expressed by the Offices of New Mexico Senators
Udall and Bingaman. Field representatives from both offices attended the
Symposium and read statements from the Senators during the General Session.
Congressman Silvestre Reyes took time out from his busy schedule to visit and
address those in attendance on day two.
Over the two days there were many high valued presentations made by
professionals in the contracting arena and business fields. Some of these
presentations are posted below. Featured speakers were Mr. Robert A.
Burton- who retired from federal service as the Deputy Administrator of the
Office of federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Executive Office of the
President; Ms. Mamie Salazar-Harper- CEO, M Rentals, Inc. whose story serves as
an example for other entrepreneurs; and Colonel Tim White, Deputy Garrison
Commander, Ft Bliss, Texas who serves as the Senior Army Engineer responsible
for the synchronization, coordination and integration of all base transformation
actions, events and activities related to Base Realignment and Closure on Ft
Bliss.
Those in attendance also had the opportunity to receive the advice and guidance
of well informed and experienced persons such as Mr. Ralph Thomas who
specializes in Contract Law and Corporate Transactions; Loretta Dominguez,
Senior Commercial Manager of CIG and Robert Taylor, Area Director of Government
Contracting with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Best wishes to all who supported, planned and participated in this years
Symposium and may the alliances developed lead to a prosperous 2009 and beyond.
The following presentations are available to download:
|
