Earlier this year, President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, with the intent of jumpstarting the economy by committing billions of dollars to a variety of initiatives.

The Economic Stimulus Package is full of opportunities for those business owners that are ready, willing, and able to go to work. It is our goal to ensure that you have access to the wide variety of contracting opportunity information available as a result of this initiative.

The goal of this year’s Government Procurement Connections Conference (GPC) is to provide small and MWDBE firms with access to the information needed to compete and participate on these projects. The conference will be held on April 22nd and 23rd at the George R. Brown Convention Center, but waiting for the conference to begin your preparation will be waiting too late. These projects are on the fast track for implementation, so the time to prepare is now.

Here’s what you can do today:

1. Visit the GPC website at www.houstongpc.com to find out:
   • 12 Steps for Contracting with the Federal Government
   • Fluid information on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
   • Guide to Doing Business with the City of Houston, and link to website with information on MWDBE certification. This website will be updated frequently to provide links to opportunities in various agencies, so check it often to get the latest information.
2. Attend GPC to meet face to face with representatives from local, state, and federal agencies, their prime contractors, banks, and resource agencies. At GPC, you can attend free workshops on “How to Respond to a Federal Bid or Proposal,” and “How to Access City, County, and State Contracting Opportunities.”
3. 3) Attend the GPC Awards Luncheon to hear from the heads of major funding recipients HISD, METRO, TxDOT, the Houston Airport System, and the Port of Houston to learn about plans to spend the Economic Stimulus Package dollars, and how you may be able to participate.

We want Houston’s S/MWDBE community to be prepared to take advantage of these opportunities in a meaningful way. Act now. And, as always, if we can be of assistance to you, give us a call at 713.837.9000.

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