BWN Luncheon Meeting

Guest Registration for the October 18 Lunch:
"Business Women-Government Contracting-Strategic Partnerships"
BWN members Special Secretary Sharon Pinder from the Governors Office on Minority Affairs and Gloria Berthold, President: TargetGov will present.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
$40 Member Door fee / $30 Member Pre-register
$40 Non-member

Click here for more information and to register

Teleconference: GSA Schedules

10/19/06 GSA Schedule Two Track Teleconference

October 19, 2006 -- Two Track GSA Teleconferences -- Track 1: What a GSA Schedule Is and How to Obtain One from and Track 2: Now That You Have a GSA Schedule, Learn How to Use It to Get Contracts. Getting a GSA Schedule can be one of your most effective business development tools for the federal governemnt market. Attend these two teleconferences to learn how to get a GSA Schedule and how to use it effectively!

BWCC Procurement Fair October 27

Friday, October, 27, 2006
♦ 8am-12pm ♦ Greenbelt Marriott
Doors open at 8:00am

Resources available throughout the event to help you learn how to
do business with the government.

Pre-registration required for:
One-on-One Counseling Sessions
Contact Shirley Redd to register and learn which agencies and prime contractors are participating
Presentation Topics:

Maryland Small Business Reserve, Mentor-Protege and MBE Programs:
SHARON R. PINDER, Special Secretary, Governor's Office of Minority Affairs

Intercounty Connector Project:
Melinda Peters, Project Director, MDOT State Highway Administration

Business Development for Government Contractors
Learn the Top Ten Successful Strategies for Government Business Development and the Mistakes to Avoid in Government Contracting from nationally-known speaker Gloria Berthold. These practical do's and don't's of government contracting will help you target and win the business opportunities that are your best matches in this confusing market. Contracting: GLORIA BERTHOLD, President, TargetGov
To register: Visit our website: www.bwccgovcon.org

More News and Government Contracting Notes

Angel Investing Continues to Grow
The latest data on angel investing trends from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) shows that the angel investor market remains quite healthy. According to UNH professor Jeffrey Sohl, the value of angel investments reached $12.7 billion over the first two quarters of 2006. The growth rate of these investments was 15% higher than occurred in the first half of 2005. The average size of investments grew (up 22%) as angels backed 24,500 firms in the first half of 2006 – representing a 6% drop from the first half of 2005. ‘Health care and medical devices’ is the hottest sector for angels, accounting for 27% of total deals. Other hot sectors include software, biotechnology, and retail.

To learn more, click here to access the University of New Hampshire’s September 20, 2006 press release entitled “Angel Investor Markets Grows in First Half of 2006.”

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Berthold Awarded 100 Top MBE in Maryland

Gloria Berthold Recognized for Business Excellence


Baltimore, MD. The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) and The Daily Record announced that Gloria Berthold, president of TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc., located in Howard County, has been named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises for 2006. This program is designed to salute Maryland’s best minority and women business owners and to highlight their achievements.

A panel of distinguished judges chose Gloria Berthold as an entrepreneur who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in four key areas: business development, client satisfaction, professional affiliations and community outreach.

TargetGov was created to help small, minority, women and veteran-owned businesses with business devlopment in federal, state and local government agencies. Services include an exclusive, online database of government buyers at all levels of government, teaming development for contracts, business and sales consulting as well as GSA Schedule assistance, proposal writing, negotiating and contract management.

Sharon R. Pinder, Special Secretary, Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs said, “The business owners selected for this award represent the best of the state’s more than 200,000 women and minority owned businesses. Their contributions have had a major impact in maintaining Maryland’s vibrant economy.”

“Maryland is a very proactive state in encouraging minority and woman business owners. I am honored to receive this recognition and I will continue to help other business owners reach success in government contracting.”

Gloria Berthold will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Inn and Conference Center at University of Maryland University College, in Adelphi, Maryland, on Friday. October 27, 2006.

For more information about TargetGov go to www.targetgov.com

Press info: http://www.targetgov.com/Content.asp?id=2330

For more information about tile Top 100 MBE awards, please log onto www.TopMBE.com

For more information on the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs visit www.mdminoritybusiness.com

Teleconference Schedule

Click the date for more details


October 5, 2006—Two Tracks! 8(a) Certification -- Will It Help You Win More Contracts? 2 Tracks: Choose the one that is best for you or attend both for full information. Attend both and save $40!
Over $15 Billion in federal contracts are set aside for those companies meeting Minority, Disadvantaged, HUB Zone or other certifications. Do you qualify for certification? If so, how do you get certified and then use that certification to open the door to business opportunities? Attend one or both TargetGov Teleconferences for answers!

October 19, 2006 -- Two Track GSA Teleconferences -- Track 1: What a GSA Schedule Is and How to Obtain One from and Track 2: Now That You Have a GSA Schedule, Learn How to Use It to Get Contracts. Getting a GSA Schedule can be one of your most effective business development tools for the federal governemnt market. Attend these two teleconferences to learn how to get a GSA Schedule and how to use it effectively!

FAA ends procurement program

A $543 million Federal Aviation Administration contracting program is being dissolved after an audit found it was improperly managed by the agency, according to a Transportation Department inspector general’s report released this week.

Only 24 percent of the 114 contracts awarded for support services under the RESULTS program “benefited from competition” and half of all contracts were awarded with no competition, according to the audit. The IG found that most of the contracts lacking competition were awarded based on “manager’s preference for working with a known individual contractor, an unacceptable reason.”

Also, 10 of 11 contracts reviewed lacked any criteria to determine contractor performance, the audit found. The audit also found the program failed to meet its mission of providing FAA with faster, cheaper and better support services. Labor costs under the RESULTS program were $24 million to $44 million higher than those incurred under other FAA procurement programs.

The report notes that FAA has taken steps to dissolve the program by halting new contract awards, discontinuing the program Web site and terminating 12 contracts this year. The report recommended FAA use other, existing multiple-award programs to replace the contracts.

The investigation into the program began in 2005 with a request from Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

Click here for more information

Congress agrees to merger of GSA funds

The House on Monday passed legislation allowing the General Services Administration to merge revolving funds for two acquisition units -- a key step in an ongoing reorganization -- advancing the measure to the White House for President Bush's signature. The Senate passed an amended version of the bill earlier this month.

The legislation would allow GSA to complete the merger of its Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service into a single entity. Combining the revolving funds for the two procurement groups into a new Federal Acquisition Service fund could improve the agency's financial outlook, as the technology service has recently run at a loss while the supply service has generated a surplus.

Click here for the full story

TSA Contracts Will Go to Small Business

Kerry Ensures TSA Contracts Will Go to Small Businesses

Contact: Brian Rice of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 202-224-7834

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Senator John Kerry (D- Massachusetts) succeeded in attaching legislation to the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report that will make the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) accountable to the Small Business Act for purposes of contracting with outside vendors. TSA was exempted from the Small Business Act in the aftermath of 9/11, and as a result has not been held to requirements for contracting with small businesses that apply to nearly every other Federal agency.

"By every account, TSA has abused procurement privileges granted in the aftermath of September 11th," said Kerry, who as Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee has been an ardent supporter for small business contracting opportunities. "As a result, capable qualified small businesses are left out of the federal procurement process. When it comes to ensuring that America's small businesses receive the opportunities they need to grow and succeed, it's time to bring the Bush Administration in check. That starts today at TSA."

Kerry's legislation is scheduled to pass as part of the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report later this evening. The final version of the bill will be approved by both the House and the Senate Chambers today, and will be sent to the President for his signature.

As a result of Kerry's amendment, TSA will be required to adhere to government-wide, statutory contracting goals. These goals establish that at least 23 percent of federal contracts will go to small businesses, with smaller percentages of between three and five percent directed to disadvantaged business communities, including socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, women owned businesses, and service disabled veteran owned businesses.

"Small businesses face plenty of obstacles without the federal government shutting them out of procurement opportunities," said Kerry. "We depend on small businesses to grow our economy. The least we can do is reserve them a place at the table to compete for these contracts."

GSA: End NASA contract?

GSA chief wants to end NASA contract

The head of the U.S. General Services Administration has taken the unusual step of asking the White House to deny NASA's request to extend a multibillion-dollar government-wide information technology contract.

A $4 billion space agency contract for buying computers and other IT products from IBM Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Unisys Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and CDW Corp., among others, is scheduled to end next year and NASA has received bids to extend the deal.

But Lurita Doan, GSA administrator, argues that her agency has contracts offering similar products, and not renewing the NASA contract would allow that agency to better focus on buying products and services needed for space exploration and other NASA-specific missions.

Doan is making similar requests on contracts at other agencies, including Treasury and Defense. If she gets her way, she could change the way federal contractors do business with the government. It's not clear whether Doan's request will be honored.....

Click here for the full story