Poplar Bluff Chamber sponsors small business conference
focused
on how to help Hubzone businesses win contracts
with the U.S. DOT
 |
| Rodney Jetton, Willis Mushrush and Tammy Armond |
POPLAR BLUFF, MO – The Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce, University of
Missouri Extension Center, Ozark Regional Foothills Planning Commission and
Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) joined with the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) in sponsoring a conference to teach Hubzone
business owners how to win government contracts to build roads in northern
Arkansas and southern Missouri. DOT Small
Business Transportation Resource Center project director Tammy Armond said, “We
didn’t have a conference like this scheduled in Missouri, but when I found out
that DOT had approximately $200 million in federal aid that was going to be procured
in northern Arkansas by the end of the year I knew we needed to do more to
reach out to small business in southern Missouri.”
 |
| Steve Halter |
Participants came from all across southern Missouri and northern
Arkansas with one attendee coming all the way from St. Louis. Chamber director Steve Halter welcomed
everyone to Poplar Bluff and emphasized how the Poplar Bluff Chamber was
excited to help sponsor the conference and wanted to do everything they could
to help businesses grow and create jobs.
The two day conference included presentations on the Hubzone program, contractor
bonding requirements as well as the outlook for government contracting in the
near future. Additionally, each agency
explained what they could do to help Hubzone businesses apply for and win
government contracts.
 |
| Willis Mushrush of PTAC |
Willis Mushrush, the PTAC Business Development Specialist, covered all
the free services PTAC offered to Missouri small businesses. He got everyone’s attention when he said,
“Doing business with the government makes sense because the government is the world’s
biggest customer and buys all kinds of goods and services. Their checks never bounce and they spend $43
million every hour, which is over a billion a day buying products and services.”
He explained they help companies develop budgets and marketing plans, plus bid
tracking and preparation. They also help
companies sign up on all the government registration sites. “Using PTAC’s services can help small
businesses increase bid and networking opportunities, plus provide them with
more chances to attend conferences and training classes, helping them win more
contracts,” added Mushrush.
Schultz Surveying and Engineering was one of the
local companies who participated in the two day conference. “We completed several contracts for the
federal government as a Hubzone company and our Small Business Administration (SBA)
representative, Patricia
Guttmann, as well as PTAC’s services were very helpful in our efforts to win
contracts. I was excited that they were
having the conference in Poplar Bluff and wanted our company to participate,”
remarked SSE owner Stan Schultz.
 |
| Small Business Development Specialist Kevin Anderson |
Other speakers included Kevin Anderson from the
Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Center, Alan Rodgers of
Bancorp South Insurance Services, Mel Jackson with Southern Bank, Grover Richardson
with DOT, Alan Rodgers from Bancorp South, David Ratliff from AR Credit Services
and Rose Lucas with MoDOT. SSE attendee
Rodney Jetton said, “Tammy, Willis and Kevin organized a very informative conference
that offered some great business advice.
Our company has done some federal work but I walked away with several
great pointers that will help us more effectively compete for government
projects.”
The conference was held at the Holiday Inn in the
conference center with the Poplar Bluff Chamber arranging the snacks, drinks
and catering from Las Margaritas. Michael Godi, owner of Godi Excavating in
Salem, Missouri concluded by saying, “I am more confident of my ability to bid
on state and federal contracts now that I understand the process better.”
Schultz Surveying and
Engineering is a Missouri based Civil Engineering Company with offices in Poplar
Bluff, Branson, Lake Ozark and Doniphan. They have provided drinking water and
wastewater design services to over 58 communities in Missouri. To date, they have helped those communities
obtain over $124,000,000 in public funding.
They have helped design roads for cities, counties and MoDOT including
Hwys. 67, 60, and 13 to name just a few.
They have several large state of the art USACE validated testing labs
and are one of the select companies that have been approved for a Blanket Purchase
Agreement with the USACE. They have also
provided surveying services to a variety of clients from utilities, MoDOT,
USACE, cities, corporations, small business, and individuals. SSE is a HubZone
certified company and can be found at www.schultzengineering.com
