Tag Archives: universal mentor-protege

Thank You, Quad Cities!

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I am back from a trip to the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, where I gave two presentations at the Midwest Small Business Government Contracting Symposium. My first presentation focused on upcoming legal developments (including the big Kingdomware Supreme Court decision, which is due any day now); my second talk centered on the SBA’s pending universal mentor-protege program.

It was great to spend two days meeting with small government contractors, large mentors and small business liaison officers, government officials and others in the industry.  A big “thank you” to the Iowa/Illinois Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association for organizing an outstanding event.  Thanks also to the Illinois PTAC, the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce, and all of the other event sponsors for their contributions, and to the Midwest SBLO Group for inviting me to address its quarterly meeting.  And of course, thanks to all of those who attended the conference (and my presentations!)

If you weren’t able to make it the Quad Cities for this year’s event, please feel free to contact me for copies of my PowerPoint slides. As for me, I’ll be sticking closer to home for a little while, before kicking off a busy August with a trip to Texas for the 20th Annual Government Procurement Conference.  Hope to see you there!

Thank You, Idaho!

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I am back in Lawrence after a great trip to Idaho for the Idaho Small Business Symposium.  My presentation at the ISBS focused on big legal changes on the horizon in small business contracting, including the SBA’s proposed universal mentor-protege program.

Thank you to all of the small business owners, government officials, and others who attended my session or stopped by to visit me at the Koprince Law booth.  And a special thanks to Lee Velten and Gary Moore of the Idaho PTAC, who put together this fantastic event.

Next up for me: the APTAC Spring Conference in St. Louis, where I look forward to seeing a lot of familiar faces–including my friend Guy Timberlake of the American Small Business Coalition, who will also be speaking at APTAC.  If you are a “PTACer,” I look forward to seeing you in St. Louis!

Universal Mentor-Protege Program Update: “June or July,” Says SBA

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The SBA says that it expects to issue a final rule on its proposed “universal” mentor-protege program in June or July 2016.

Buried in an interview with Federal News Radio on the WOSB program (itself a worthy topic), John Shoraka, the SBA’s Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development stated that the SBA expects to issue a final rule this summer, and begin implementation in the fall.

Recently, many contractors have been asking me for updates on the universal mentor-protege program.  Now we have one, and it’s time for contractors to start seriously thinking about taking advantage of this major new program.

Thank You, Veterans!

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I am back in Lawrence after two great days at the National Veterans Small Business Engagement in Pittsburgh.  I led three Learning Sessions at the NVSBE: the first on SDVOSB joint venturing and teaming, the second on the SBA’s proposed new “universal” mentor-protege program, and the third on the ins and outs of the non-manufacturer rule.

Thank you to all of the veterans, government representatives, and others who attended the sessions–the rooms were packed and the audiences were very engaged.  And thank you, as well, to the organizers of this great annual event, who kindly invited me to speak even though the VA and I don’t exactly see eye to eye on the Kingdomware case.

If you weren’t able to attend my sessions at the NVSBE, I am happy to send you a copy of the slides–just contact me.

SDVOSBs And VOSBs: I’ll See You At NVSBE 2015

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I am pleased to announce that I will be presenting three Learning Sessions at the 2015 National Veterans Small Business Engagement in Pittsburgh.

My first session, Joint Venturing and Teaming on SDVOSB Set-Aside Contracts, will take place on November 17 at 11:10 a.m. in Room 333.  The second session, The SBA’s Proposed New “Universal” Mentor-Protege Program, will be that same day at 3:10 p.m. in Room 413.  The third session, Is My Company a “Non-Manufacturer”–The Ins and Outs of the Non-Manufacturer Rule will be held on November 18 at 11:10 a.m. in Room 413.

If you will be attending NVSBE 2015, I hope you’ll make it to my Learning Sessions.  See you at the conference!

SBA Moving Closer To “Universal” Mentor-Protege Implementation

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The SBA is moving toward implementing its proposed “universal” mentor-protege program for all small businesses.

According to testimony presented by the SBA’s Associate Administrator for Government Contracting Business Development at a recent Congressional hearing, the SBA has put together a Mentor-Protege Program Expansion Project Team to oversee the implementation of the new program.

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Thank You, Utah!

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I am back in Kansas after a great trip to Salt Lake City, where I spoke at the 10th Annual PTAC Procurement Symposium.  My presentation covered important new developments in government contracting, including the SBA’s proposed new “universal” mentor-protege program, the new WOSB sole source authority, and more.

Many thanks to Fred Lange, Chuck Spence, and their team at the Utah PTAC for inviting me to speak.  Thanks also to all of those who attended the conference and made this such a great event.

I will be here in Lawrence for a few weeks, and then it is on to Washington, DC, where I will be sitting in on Supreme Court oral arguments in the Kingdomware SDVOSB/VOSB case and speaking on Kingdomware and other timely government contracting topics at the APTAC Fall Conference.