SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
The Mission and Installation Contracting Command deputy to the commanding general addressed more than 150 area small business representatives at the 2022 San Antonio Business Opportunity Council Aug. 16 in San Antonio as part of the command’s continuing industry outreach efforts.
Clay Cole emphasized during remarks to the group that the realistic daily training and services supporting servicemembers, which is made possible with contracted support by small businesses in greater San Antonio and across our nation, helps prepare each of the military services for the future fight.
“The Army is a huge advocate for American small business support, and that's a sentiment shared by all of my DOD contracting counterparts,” Cole said, adding the success of the Army’s response to the COVID pandemic relied heavily upon small business capabilities to meet the immediate needs for medical services and supplies by the nation.
The event served as SABOC’s 37th annual training workshop that supported the theme “Small Business is Big Business in Government Procurement,” according to Sheena Little, the SABOC president. In addition to Little, welcoming the small business audience for the daylong event were Mary Hernandez, director of the SBA San Antonio District Office, and Ted James, SBA Region VI administrator.
Throughout the morning, participants heard from a state and local small business advocacy panel made up of representative with the San Antonio Independent School District, Texas Department of Information Resources, University Health-San Antonio, VIA Metropolitan Transit, CPS Energy, San Antonio Water System, Bexar County and University of Texas at San Antonio. They next heard remarks on category management as well as an outlook for the U.S. and Texas economies from the senior vice president for corporate strategy and chief economist with SWBC.
Mark Massie, the MICC Office of Small Business director, joined a DOD panel of Joint Base San Antonio contracting leaders to answer questions and further emphasize the importance of small business support for the Army. Joining Massie on the panel were leaders from the 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Defense Health Agency, Army Medical Command, Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division, 338th Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center and 502nd Contracting Squadron.
“Getting back to in-person events is a welcome sight and a sign of returning to some degree of normalcy,” Massie said. “Sharing information and answering questions from small businesses allows us to be transparent and assists industry with finding opportunities.”
The event also provided an opportunity for small business representatives to visit with exhibitors, including MICC small business professionals Deanna Ochoa and Sheriley Smith, who answered their questions.
Little, who also serves as the acting area director for Area V of the Small Business Administration Office of Government Contracting, explained that the council promotes the utilization of small businesses across all socio-economic categories throughout San Antonio and South Texas. SABOC is composed of representatives from federal agencies, the SBA, Bexar County, City of San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio.