GSA Announces Debut of Native American Business Center

GSA #10076

March 30, 2004
Contact: Cara Hoevet, (303) 236-7153 or
             Deborah K. Ruiz, (202) 501-1231

ALBUQUERQUE — Attendees at the 2004 Native American Conference, which opened today, were among the first to hear about the U.S. General Services Administration’s newly installed Native American Business Center.  The Center is an extension of GSA’s Office of Small Business Utilization based in Washington, D.C.

“We’re creating this center to provide assistance in areas that we feel will be of particular benefit to Native American small business owners,” said GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry. “The Center’s mission is to bridge the gap to the Native American community by supplying facilities and technology to support economic prosperity.”

Recognizing the need to have a primary location where American Indian/Alaska Native-owned small businesses could gain access to business opportunities and projects with GSA and other government agencies, the Center will be overseen by GSA’s Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Denver, Colo. 

GSA’s Native American Business Center will focus primarily on providing American Indian/Alaska Native small business owners with resources and information for meeting key contracting experts and learning how to tap into the government contracting market. 

Also speaking at the conference were David W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Ronald N. Langston, National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency, U.S. Department of Commerce. GSA Associate Administrator Felipe Mendoza, Regional Administrator Scott Armey and Regional Administrator Larry Trujillo, representing GSA’s Office of Small Business Utilization and Greater Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions, respectively, were also present.

GSA is a centralized federal procurement and property management agency with 11 regional offices, including one in Fort Worth that serves Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public, GSA acquires, on behalf of federal agencies, office space, equipment, telecommunications, information technology, supplies and services.  GSA, comprised of 13,000 associates, provides services and solutions for the office operations of over 1 million federal workers located in 8,300 government -owned and leased buildings in 2,000 U.S. communities.