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North Carolina Senate Stalls VOB Law

mckissick Legislation designed to encourage state government agencies to purchase goods and services from veteran-owned businesses and set a goal of awarding at least 10 percent of construction business to VOBs bidding on North Carolina state contracts has stalled, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

Legislators said further inquiry is needed and the bill will flounder until the legislature reconvenes in 2011. The bill, House Bill 912, passed the N.C. House of Representatives unanimously in May 2009 and has floundered in the Senate Commerce Committee for more than a year.

State Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr. was quoted as saying "I think the questions were, in establishing this kind of preference, there are other categories that we already provide some type of preference for... who do you give advantage to?"

This is the same type of argument that creeps up around the country dealing with this type of legislation. Other diverse groups claim that veteran-owned businesses are taking a slice of their pie. There’s an easy solution to that false logic. Cut a new slice!

Another argument stems from the fact that many of these laws were passed in response to discrimination against minority- and women-owned businesses. Opponents of inclusion of VOBs insist that veterans were not discriminated against. Ask any Vietnam veteran about their return home in the 1960s and 1970s. They may have a dissenting opinion.

In either case, if the state is going to offer an advantage to anybody, at least include service-disabled veterans. These brave Americans have earned it. Plus, the government doesn’t make a person a minority or a woman, but it does create veterans.

To learn more about this bill click here.

Posted by Matthew Pavelek at 06/29/2010 04:48 PM

Organizations Share New Business Opportunities for Vetrepreneurs

ADP is looking for veteran-owned business suppliers whose product/service offerings include national outplacement services as well as cafeteria/food management services in the Owing Mills, Maryland area.

For more information contact De Asa Brown, ADP Supplier Diversity, at (973) 974-4730 or DeAsa_Brown@adp.com

DuPont is seeking veteran-owned businesses to assist with the ongoing construction of a 200,000+ square foot multi story office building in Wilmington, Delaware. Services/products needed include, but are not limited to: Security System, Drywall / Acoustical / Rough Carpentry / Toilet Accessories, Architectural Millwork / Wall Art, Hard Tile / Interior Stone, Stone Countertops / Corian, Carpet and more.

Interested companies must register on the DuPont Global Supplier Portal by 06/29/10. Click here to register.

For more information contact Ron Tutundji, Small Business/Supplier Diversity Manager at (302) 892-8462 or ronald.tutundji@usa.dupont.com

$49M Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) for Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build Construction Services Within the Honolulu Engineer District Area of Responsibility

Agency: Department of the Army
Office: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Location: USACE District, Honolulu

Click here to learn more.

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Phase 2 Gravesite Expansion and Cemetery Improvements Elwood, Illinois
Agency: Department of Veterans Affairs
Office: VA Office of Construction & Facilities Management
Location: Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Facilities Management

Click here for more information.

Posted by Matthew Pavelek at 06/23/2010 02:25 PM

Former Vetrepreneur of the Year Sponsors Veterans’ Entrepreneurship Bootcamp

Llano 2 With support from South Florida-based Source One Distributors, Inc and its founder Mark Llano, the 2009 Vetrepreneur of the Year, this year’s Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program at Florida State University will include some extra incentives for military veterans taking part in the program.

At the end of this summer’s boot camp, each of the 21 participating veterans will present his or her individual business plan and entrepreneurial dream to a panel of judges. The judges will then select six veterans to walk away with seed money to pursue their business goals — two with $1,500 first-place prizes, two with second-place prizes of $1,000, and two with third-place prizes of $500.

“This is the first time anything like this has been offered, not only at FSU, but at any affiliated boot-camp program in the country,” said Randy Blass, director of Florida State’s program and a faculty member in the university’s College of Business. “One of the biggest obstacles for starting a new venture is start-up capital, so a cash prize serves not only to provide much-needed assistance but also signals that an idea has merit.”

The money for the prizes was offered to the program by Source One Distributors and its president and CEO, Mark Llano. “It’s heartening to see high caliber schools such as Florida State University supporting the men and women of the armed forces,” said Llano. “We are very happy to be involved and look forward to seeing the results of the boot-camp.”

The Entrepreneurship Program for Veterans with Disabilities, which began in 2007 at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management, is offered at a consortium of universities including Florida State, Texas A&M University, the University of California Los Angeles, Purdue University and the University of Connecticut. The program is recognized by the Army Community Covenant program of the Department of the Army as a “national best practice” program.

For more information about FSU’s boot camp, contact Randy Blass at (850) 644-7859 or rblass@cob.fsu.edu or click here.

Posted by Matthew Pavelek at 06/23/2010 09:02 AM

Airlift Research Foundation Addressing Unique Challenges for Returning Veterans

airlift 4 The Airlift Research Foundation, based in Pittsburgh, is leading the charge to fund orthopedic research and to increase public awareness of traumatic war injuries of military and civilian survivors worldwide. Unique to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately 82 percent of all war injuries involve extremities.

As more military troops return home, a growing number have sustained traumatic orthopedic extremity injuries, including fractures and amputation. Unfortunately, orthopedic injury research has not kept pace with this increase, leaving these men and women to face a new battle of recovery, rehabilitation and re-entry to civilian life.

Research funding addresses the protection of limbs, treatment of injuries in the field, rehabilitation and quality of life-research that has immediate benefits for war survivors and future benefits for all orthopedic trauma patients. Raising public awareness ensures that both the military and the public understand the enormous impact of extremity trauma, both in the field and at home.

To learn more about The Airlift Research Foundation click here.

Posted by Matthew Pavelek at 06/16/2010 10:02 AM

Oklahoma State University Accepting Applications for Free Veterans Entrepreneurship Program

riata The Veterans Entrepreneurship Program (VEP), presented by the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship and School of Entrepreneurship in OSU’s Spears School of Business, offers a three-stage learning experience that provides business support and resources for veterans to launch or expand their own businesses.

The entire VEP program – transportation, accommodation, books, food and instruction – is provided free of charge to participants. OSU alumni and supporters have rallied around the program and donated thousands of dollars to help make the program possible.

Participants complete an online self-study session and an intense eight-day on-campus bootcamp, followed by ten months of mentoring and support from elite entrepreneurship educators from around the country, VEP faculty members and volunteer entrepreneurs.

To apply for the 2010-2011 class click here. Applications are due by October 1, 2010.

Posted by Matthew Pavelek at 06/11/2010 12:28 PM

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