VA and Federal Agencies Enthusiastically Opens Doors for Veteran Owned

VA and Federal Agencies Enthusiastically Opens Doors for Veteran Owned
Businesses

National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo Begins

The upcoming National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo will
attract some 4,000 attendees from Veteran Owned Businesses and
Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses. Of 27 million small
businesses in the United States, 3.6 million are veteran or
service-disabled veteran-owned. These businesses employ 8.2 million
people and contribute $1.6 trillion to the U.S. economy.  Veterans are a
values-based, motivated, and highly trained workforce ready to work and
contribute to our economy.
The President has challenged the private sector to hire or train 100,000
unemployed Veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. As the
President said last Friday at the Washington Navy Yard, our small
business base needs innovative and skilled workers - like our veterans -
to grow.
WHAT:    National Veterans Small Business Conference and Expo
          (Website: http://www.nationalveteransconference.com/)

WHERE:  Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center
Boulevard, New Orleans, La.

WHEN:    Mon.-Fri., Aug. 15-19
OPEN PRESS for remarks and interviews on a request basis

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:  Consistent with the Administration's efforts to
hire Veterans, to improve the Nation's economic recovery and vitality,
and recognizing the significant impact of small business on the American
and global marketplace, the conference will enthusiastically open its
doors to the Veteran Owned Businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned
Small Businesses communities. The conference will offer training
sessions on navigating the federal acquisition process, and on-site
assistance to prospective Veteran businesses owners on how to certify as
a Veteran-owned business.
The scheduled speakers at the conference include: Eric K. Shinseki,
Secretary of Veterans Affairs; W. Scott Gould, Deputy Secretary,
Department of Veterans Affairs; Jane Holl Lute, Deputy Secretary,
Department of Homeland Security; Frank Kendall, Principal Deputy Under
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; and
Anthony Jiminez, President, CEO and Founder, Micro Tech.  Information on
media availabilities will follow at a later date.
     For further information, contact Amanda Jones in New Orleans at
504-565-4852, amanda.jones6@va.gov; or Josh Taylor in Washington, D.C.,
at 202-368-3298, josh.taylor@va.gov.