GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, FINANCES WORKSHOP TOPICS

A number of small business operators learned about government procurement opportunities during a special workshop held at Cape Girardeau Wednesday.

Regional representatives of General Services Administration and the Small Business Administration discussed government contracts and business development opportunities during a three-hour session at the Show Me Center.

Glen W. ("Woody") Overton, regional administrator for the GSA's Heartland Region, which covers Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, talked about government contracts.

Overton said his agency provides services and supplies to other federal agencies, and contracts with local businesses for items used by the government.

This includes federal building construction and repairs, vehicles, telecommunications systems, and the purchase of such common-use items as paper clips, washing machines and furniture for such government groups as the U.S. Postal Service, Veteran's Administration Medical Centers, and other federal agencies offering GSA contracts.

"A lot of small business in this area will have an opportunity to receive some government contracts when we start work on the new federal building in Cape Girardeau," said Overton.

The new federal building is on the drawing board for Cape Girardeau. "Our plans at this time are to have construction completed by the year 2001," Overton said.

If a small business does not receive the contract for the new building, the company that is contracted will have to negotiate with small business as subcontractors for the project, he said.

Overton cited some of the latest contracting figures by the GSA.

"In the four-state, Region 6 area, we have contracted for more than $525 million in contracts," he said. "Of that amount, $441 million, or 81 percent, has been with small businesses."

Breaking the figures down further, Overton said that 55.6 percent of the business had been contracted with minority business, and 5.2 percent with women-owned businesses.

The GSA, which is responsible for $4.8 billion in government/business contracts nationwide, has economized over the past three years and has been reshaping itself since 1993.

"In Region 6, we have downsized our budget by 37 percent, cut the complicated regulations in half and have reduced our work force from 1,500 to about 1,000 employees," said Overton. "During that same span of time, we have tripled our business in the region."

The federal government is small business's friend, said Overton. "Today, we're offering information on how small businesses here can do business with the government."

During the seminar, businessmen had opportunities to meet one-on-one with federal representatives from the GSA and SBA.

"The SBA guaranteed more than 60,000 loans totaling $9.9 billion to small businesses in the U.S. in 1995," said Kent, the SBA'S Region VII administrator. "Many of those loans were in the eastern half of Missouri."

Kent was appointed to his position by President Bill Clinton in March 1994, and administers SBA programs throughout the four-state Region VII area, which also includes Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.