Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 3, 1 March 2013 — Conference to help smooth path to federal contracts [ARTICLE]

Conference to help smooth path to federal contracts

By Harold Nedd More than 200 veterans and other small business owners are expected to benefit in a big way from a eonference in March meant to help them clear hurdles in the path to securing federal govemment contracts. The 2013 Hawai'i Veterans and Small Business Forum & Expo has been scheduled for 8 a.m. March 28, and is being organized by the Hawai'i Procurement Technical Assistance Center (HI-PTAC), whose mission is to help loeal small businesses compete for lucrative

federal government contracts. Last year, spending in Hawai'i by the U.S. Department of Defense reached $19.7 hillion, down from $21 hillion the previous year. HIPTAC last year was credited with helping loeal businesses secure 78 federal government projects valued

at an estimated $272 million. "We're extremely excited about the potential for this conference to help us better position loeal businesses to compete and win federal government contracts that would enahle them to thrive," said Lisa Haggerty, manager of HI-PTAC. Leatures of the conference include opportunities for smallbusiness owners to expand their network of contacts among federal and state government officials, prime contractors and loeal entrepreneurs. Among the highlights of the conference are workshops on accounting requirements for federal contracts as well as useful insight on how to work with the federal government. More than a dozen puhlie, private and nonprofit organizations are helping HI-PTAC organize the conference, whose keynote speaker will be Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. Lor more information about the conference, visit hiptac.org. ■

Hawai'i Veterans and Small Business Forum & Expo When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 28 Where: Hale Koa Hotel Registration and info: hiptac.org Fee: $150

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