"Reaching New Heights" is the theme of the procurement expo at the Northern New Mexico Community College, said Tim Martinez of Los Alamos' Community Relations Office. The city of Española, the Small Business Administration and the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance are co-sponsoring the two-day event.
More than 400 business owners, entrepreneurs, procurement officials and community leaders are expected to attend the expo, which also includes a job fair.
"The expo is the ideal opportunity for small, Northern New Mexico businesses to introduce their goods and services to government agencies in the area," said Martinez. "There are many locally-owned and operated businesses that can meet the needs of not only the Laboratory, but other agencies of government, in a timely and cost-effective manner."
The keynote speakers for the luncheon at noon Wednesday are Jacob Lazada, diversity adviser for the Office of Personnel Management, and Lee Allen, the Bureau of Land Management's western business coordinator in the Office of Small Disadvantaged and Business Utilization.
After the kickoff luncheon, the expo is open to the public at 2 p.m., and includes an afternoon "get-to-know the buyers" session with one-on-one meetings between buyers from Los Alamos and Sandia national labs, other federal agencies and small businesses. Buyers and small business owners should contact Martinez at 667-2390 to set up a one-on-one appointment.
Also scheduled on Wednesday is a celebration and awards dinner at 6 p.m. "Welcome to Northern New Mexico, Bienvenidos al Norte," is the theme of the celebration dinner, which is open to the public. The cost to attend is $25; proceeds from the dinner will be used to pay for training for small-business owners and their employees, said Martinez. Contact Martinez for reservations to the dinner.
Martinez said in addition to the expo serving as a networking opportunity for businesses interested in doing work for the Laboratory, business owners can meet procurement officials from other local, state and federal government agencies who also need goods and services and are looking for area businesses to fill those needs.
Also at the expo, procurement personnel and businesses can take part in two workshops, "How to utilize a GSA schedule" by Pat Cotterell of the General Services Administration's Federal Supply Services on Wednesday (Oct. 15) and "Government Competitive Sourcing (OMB A-76) Process" by Steve Merritt of Delta Solutions and Strategies on Thursday (Oct. 16). The workshops begin at 10 a.m.
Martinez said business owners can gain insights into government markets, identify and develop new suppliers and vendors, develop out-of-state markets and meet prospective employees at a job fair that also is part of the procurement expo.
Recruiters from the Laboratory are scheduled to be at the job fair to talk about job opportunities at Los Alamos. Other agencies participating in the job fair include KSL Services, Weirich and Associates, the Plus Group, Butler International, Protection Technology Los Alamos, Shaw and Associates, Jacobs Engineering, Los Alamos Medical Center, Los Alamos County, the city of Espanola, the New Mexico Department of Labor, the federal Department of Interior and its agencies and Ohkay Casino of San Juan Pueblo. In addition, job placement representatives from Northern New Mexico Community College, Santa Fe Community College, the University of New Mexico and its Los Alamos and Taos campuses and the College of Santa Fe are scheduled to attend.
Other sponsors of the expo include KSL Services, Networx Inc., Abba Technologies, JGM Management Systems, Tsay Corp., QUICK fix, Hensel Phelps Construction, Jacobs Engineering, Ares Corp., New Mexico Building and Trades Council, New Mexico Rural Development Response Council, Pro2Serve Inc., Shaw Environmental, Weirich and Associates, Washington Group International U-Lock-It Storage, Wells Fargo and others. Exhibit Solutions of New Mexico is the expo display provider.
For more information, contact Martinez at 667-2390 or go to http://www.nnmsa.org/EXPO_2003.asp?PN=EXPO_2003online.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.
Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.