Kinetic Credit Union and the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, along with representatives from Fort Benning, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and NOW Corp, will host an event October 22, 2015, titled “Grow Your Business NOW with Fort Benning and Other Government Agencies: Tips to Help You Win New and Larger Contracts.”  The lunch event, which is free and open to small business owners and executives, will be held at Kinetic Credit Union, 1251 13th Street in Columbus, from 11:30am to 1:00pm.

Fort Benning, in accordance with Department of Defense contracting goals, is tasked with awarding 21.6 percent of its prime contracts to small business suppliers and 36 percent to small business subcontractors. The SBA is responsible for ensuring small businesses get their fair share of work with the federal government and overseeing these goals, which also include allocations for small businesses with specific characteristics:

–    5 percent of prime and subcontracts for women-owned small businesses;
–    5 percent of prime contracts and subcontracts for small disadvantaged businesses;
–    3 percent of prime contracts and subcontracts for HUBZone small businesses;
–    3 percent of prime and subcontracts for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

The lunch program will focus on how small and disadvantaged businesses can effectively position their businesses to compete for and secure federal government contracts, including Fort Benning contracts, and successfully manage the cash flow challenges associated with delivering or performing on those contracts. Speakers at the event will include Stephen Magner, assistant director of the Fort Benning Army Office of Small Business Programs; Jennifer Tilden, associate district director of business development at the U.S. Small Business Administration; Mark Lupo, area director of the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center; and Lara Hodgson, president and CEO of NOW Corp.

“From the beginning, Kinetic was founded to serve the needs of the men and women of Fort Benning. Today our charter has expanded to meet the needs of our community at large,” said Janet Davis, CEO of Kinetic Credit Union.  “We are delighted to bring that mission full circle by gathering the expertise, information, and tools at this event to help our local small business community grow, succeed, and create jobs while serving the needs of Fort Benning.”

“Small businesses are essential elements of our community fabric and by building small business resiliency, we strengthen community resilience as a whole, one business owner, one employee, one family, one individual at a time,” said Mark Lupo, SBDC. “We are looking forward to sharing practical information with the small business community in and around Columbus to help strengthen our community as a whole.”

“At NOW Corp, we’ve been fortunate to help a wide range of small businesses significantly expand their government and commercial contracts and, as a result, they’ve been able to create more than 1,500 jobs in Georgia over the last couple of years,” said Lara Hodgson, president and CEO of NOW Corp. “We recently participated in a similar event with the SBA in Valdosta for small suppliers and prospective suppliers of Moody Air Force Base, and it was amazing to interact with such an incredible group of highly engaged small businesses from so many different industries. We’re looking forward to doing the same in Columbus with Fort Benning.”

To register for the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grow-your-business-with-fort-benning-now-tips-to-help-you-win-new-and-larger-contracts-tickets-18800574023.