FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joanne Spaulding, Director
Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center
(802) 522-9135 | joanne.spaulding@vermont.gov
VERMONT PTAC HOSTS 3RD ANNUAL PTAC DAY SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
PTACs Around the Country Celebrate the Success of their Small Business Clients
Montpelier, Vt. – For 35 years, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) have helped expand the number of small businesses that successfully compete for and win federal, state, and local government contracts. On September 16, PTACs from around the country are coming together to celebrate the success of the tens of thousands of small businesses who have benefitted from training and technical assistance delivered by their local PTACs.
Blanchard Contracting Ltd. Co. in Windsor County had done a good deal of sub-contracting work with Veterans Affairs (VA) but they were not officially certified in the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) database. The Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center (VT PTAC) worked with them to receive Veterans Verification and HUBZone Certification to be positioned to win more contracts. Bekki Potter, Office & Accounts Manager at Blanchard Contracting said: “Our PTAC Procurement Counselor has been very helpful to have as a resource as we worked on our many certifications, including our SDVOSB through VetBiz and our HUBZone Certification.”
90 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers with over 300 local offices form a nationwide network of more than 600 dedicated procurement professionals who work to help local businesses successfully sell their products and services to government agencies. In 2019, the PTAC network served over 54,000 clients and helped them win over $28 billion in government contracts and subcontracts. Locally, VT PTAC served close to 500 clients and assisted them with winning over $168 million in government awards in 2019. The more successful our nation’s small businesses are in the government marketplace, the stronger our regional and national economies grow.
A good example is the success The Abbey Group and several partners experienced when awarded a contract with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Food Box Distribution Program. The government’s intent was to contract with regionally located contractors that would supply a pre-approved portfolio of fresh fruit, vegetable, dairy and or meat products. Those contracted would conduct food distribution supply chain activities to get USDA procured food to Americans impacted by COVID 19. The Abbey Group had an extremely short turnaround time to get this together, locate all the resources they needed, and understand many items on the solicitation to better comprehend all the requirements being asked of them. VT PTAC was among those assisting with the project. VT PTAC reviewed the solicitation areas with them and broke it down to understand it better, also providing Q&A information and forms they could not easily locate. It was a tight fit, but The Abbey Group successfully put all the required parts together in time for submission. Abbey Underwood, Vice President of Marketing, informed VT PTAC that they had won the award and added “Thank you for your assistance, as every bit helped in its securing!”
Ron Lake & Son’s was a newly created logging and land services company in Southwestern Vermont who reached out to VT PTAC right from the start for assistance with government contracting. Joshua Lake, owner of the company, learned of three contract opportunities through a BidMatch service established by his PTAC counselor and contacted her for assistance with solicitation reviews and to discuss the proposals. Ron Lake & Son’s was awarded the three state contracts for supply and delivery of firewood to Vermont State parks. Joshua was pleased to share the news with VT PTAC and said, “I would like to personally thank you for all the support you provided me in understanding how to bid on these contracts. You have been an absolute pleasure to work with throughout this process.”
VT PTAC will be unveiling a short video on September 16th featuring other successful businesses, notably from Central Vermont and the Northeast Kingdom. A link to the video will be available at https://accd.vermont.gov/economic-development/programs/ptac.
To celebrate the success of PTAC clients in communities across the country, the national PTAC network is hosting a national webinar, 2020 National PTAC Day webinar, to be held at 2:00 pm eastern time. Presented by a panel of PTAC procurement experts, the live webinar will provide valuable insights and information to both newcomers and veteran government contractors. A registration link for the national webinar can be found at https://vtptac.ecenterdirect.com/events/758. Join the celebration!
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About the Vermont Procurement Technical Assistance Center (VT PTAC): VT PTAC provides Vermont businesses with an understanding of the requirements of government contracting to obtain and successfully perform federal, state, and local contracts through free counseling services, training, and networking opportunities. The center’s mission is to increase the percentage of federal contracts awarded to Vermont businesses with emphasis on contracts awarded to small businesses. This procurement technical assistance center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency. It is also funded by the Vermont Department of Economic Development (DED), and it operates as a program within the DED. For more information on VT PTAC please visit: http://ptac.vermont.gov.
About the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD): ACCD’s mission is to help Vermonters improve their quality of life and build strong communities. ACCD accomplishes this mission by providing grants, technical assistance, and advocacy through three divisions: The Department of Economic Development, the Department of Tourism and Marketing, and the Department of Housing and Community Development. For more information on ACCD please visit: https://accd.vermont.gov.
About the PTAC Program: The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) was authorized by Congress in 1985 in an effort to expand the number of businesses capable of participating in the government marketplace. Administered by the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), the program provides matching funds through cooperative agreements with state and local governments and non-profit organizations to operate Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) for the purpose of providing procurement assistance to all businesses – particularly small businesses – interested in participating in the government marketplace. Learn more at http://www.aptac-us.org.