PITTSBURGH, by the National Veteran-Owned Business Association (NaVOBA) officially opened its survey to find the 10 Best U.S. Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses for 2012 today. The survey can be accessed at www.navoba.com/top10survey . The prestigious list honors the large corporations that most successfully engage the nation’s three million veteran-owned businesses (VOBs) as suppliers.

The cover story of the April 2012 issue of NaVOBA’s Vetrepreneur magazine will features this year’s 10 top honorees. The 2011 list welcomed back some perennial vetrepreneur-friendly companies like Booz Allen Hamilton, Comcast Corporation, Dell, Inc., DynCorp International, Lockheed Martin and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Also honored on the 2011 list were Johnson & Johnson, Mack Trucks, Inc., Serco Inc. and URS Corporation.

“The Top 10 Corporations that earn a spot on this exclusive list are the best in the U.S. at recognizing how well the military prepares business leaders through teaching leadership, teamwork, resolve, integrity and ingenuity,” said NaVOBA President Chris Hale. “In a tough economy corporate America is eager to partner with business leaders who embody those intangibles combined with exemplary skills and the dedication needed to contribute to overall economic success. We’re delighted to highlight and honor them.”

Through NaVOBA’s untiring efforts since 2007 the number of FORTUNE 1000 companies seeking veteran-owned suppliers has grown by more than 60 percent. Currently more than 160 of the world’s largest companies maintain programs designed to use VOBs as preferred vendors in their supplier diversity efforts.

The notion that military training is world-class preparation for running a business is reinforced by the fact that one out of every seven veterans in the U.S. owns a business, according to Census data. That’s twice the national average.

“Veteran-owned businesses bring key expertise to our missions supporting defense, diplomacy and development initiatives around the world,” said DynCorp International Chairman and CEO Steve Gaffney. "The dedication and discipline they showed in their service to our country is also evident in their business practices making veteran-owned businesses reliable, first-rate partners and suppliers.”

“During my time in the military, I learned many important lessons regarding leadership, the importance of diversity and teamwork,” said Alex Gorsky, Vice Chairman of Johnson & Johnson’s Executive Committee. “Partnering with veteran-owned businesses creates jobs and builds wealth in the communities in which we operate. Very simply, it enables us to continue to develop and deliver superior products and services while continuing to expand our customer base.”

The survey can be accessed at www.navoba.com/top10survey  .

About The National Veteran Owned Business Association (NaVOBA)
NaVOBA unites the nation’s 3 million businesses owned by military veterans by providing a single voice to advocate for important issues.

For more information visit us on the web at http://www.navoba.com, or follow us on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/navoba and on Twitter @navoba.

WELCOME TO DETROIT!

The Cobo Center in the heart of Detroit will host National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo June 26-29, 2012. Its elegant banquet rooms and over 70 meeting rooms totaling 178,446 square feet equip Cobo Center to accommodate capacities from up to 10,000.

Known historically as the world’s capital for the transportation industry, the Detroit metro area, which is home to 700,000 Veterans, is reinventing itself with six booming industries: medical research, defense, entertainment, green tech, urban farming, and aerotropolis.

President Barack Obama announced a new plan designed to make it easier to do business with the federal government. There are currently six major federal departments or agencies that focus on business or trade: the U.S. Department of Commerce’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

The President is asking Congress for the authority to merge those six entities into a single department tasked with boosting American business and promoting competitiveness.

The way the system is currently organized, every entrepreneur who needs to do business with the government has to navigate a maze of overlapping regulations and competing bureaucracy.

This move hopes to change that and also consolidate the redundancies that currently exist, to cut waste, and eliminate duplication.

What do you think?

An article featuring NaVOBA's success in creating more opportunities for vetrepreneurs in state contracting ran in Friday's Wall Street Journal on page A3. In 2009 there were only 12 states with any laws on the books when NaVOBA launched the State Tracker project. In just two-and-a-half years that number has grown to 23 states and 2012 promises even more. 

Click Here to Read the Article

Check out the NaVOBA State Tracker page to learn what your state is doing and how you can make your state vetrepreneur-friendly.

As more American troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, more states continue to pass legislation creating opportunities for veteran-owned firms in state government contracting. On December 7, 2011, Pennsylvania became the 23rd state to offer some advantage to veteran-owned firms when Gov. Tom Corbett signed an executive order creating the Veteran-Owned Small Business Procurement Initiative.

According to the order, the PA Department of General Services will be the central agency to develop policies and manage the participation of veteran-owned small business enterprises (VBEs) and service-disabled veteran-owned small business enterprises (SDVBEs) in commonwealth procurement opportunities.

The purpose is to ensure that agencies substantially increase opportunities for VBEs and SDVBEs to participate in commonwealth contracting opportunities as contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and professional service providers.

         a.  The Department of General Services shall:

               (1)          Develop and implement policy initiatives to substantially increase contracting and subcontracting opportunities for VBEs and SDVBEs;

               (2)           Establish a certification process for VBEs and SDVBEs and maintain and update publicly accessible lists of VBEs and SDVBEs that are certified by the Department of General Services;

               (3)          Identify and contact VBEs, SDVBEs and veteran organizations in order to inform them of commonwealth procurement opportunities and to solicit their participation as contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and professional service providers;

               (4)          Identify and contact charitable, not-for-profit organizations that manufacture products or perform services and employ veterans with disabilities, in order to identify possible contracting opportunities under Section 520 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 Pa. C.S. Section 520;

               (5)           Enforce compliance, from participating businesses and other commonwealth agencies, with the veteran-owned small business procurement initiative;

               (6)          Compile agency-reported information on the participation of VBEs and SDVBEsin commonwealth contracting opportunities and prepare a written annual report for the Governor. The report shall include cumulative information as to agency efforts to increase VBE and SDVBE participation in commonwealth contracts and subcontracts, the actual dollar amount of participation, and what efforts the Department of General Services and the agencies plan to take to improve VBE and SDVBE participation in the succeeding year; and

               (7)          Request all information or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and responsibilities under this Executive Order from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Thepurpose ofthis Executive Order is to ensure that agencies substantially increase opportunities for VBEs and SDVBEs to participate in commonwealth contracting opportunities as contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and professional service providers.

     2.  Responsibilities.

          a.  The Department of General Services shall:

               (1)          Develop and implement policy initiatives to substantially increase contracting and subcontracting opportunities for VBEs and SDVBEs;

               (2)           Establish a certification process for VBEs and SDVBEs and maintain and update publicly accessible lists of VBEs and SDVBEs that are certified by the Department of General Services;

               (3)          Identify and contact VBEs, SDVBEs and veteran organizations in order to inform them of commonwealth procurement opportunities and to solicit their participation as contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and professional service providers;

               (4)          Identify and contact charitable, not-for-profit organizations that manufacture products or perform services and employ veterans with disabilities, in order to identify possible contracting opportunities under Section 520 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 Pa. C.S. Section 520;

               (5)           Enforce compliance, from participating businesses and other commonwealth agencies, with the veteran-owned small business procurement initiative;

               (6)          Compile agency-reported information on the participation of VBEs and SDVBEsin commonwealth contracting opportunities and prepare a written annual report for the Governor. The report shall include cumulative information as to agency efforts to increase VBE and SDVBE participation in commonwealth contracts and subcontracts, the actual dollar amount of participation, and what efforts the Department of General Services and the agencies plan to take to improve VBE and SDVBE participation in the succeeding year; and

               (7)          Request all information or assistance as may be necessary for carrying out the duties and responsibilities under this Executive Order from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.