MEMO: PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE SCHEDULED

U. S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson and U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond are sponsoring the one-day procurement conference Aug. 8 to be held at Southeast Missouri State University in cooperation with the university's Small Business Development Center, the Small Business Administration, the Missouri Small Business Development Centers and Missouri Procurement Assistance Centers.

The conference will be held in Robert A. Dempster Hall.

Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $25 per person and includes lunch. More information and registration is available by calling the SBDC at (573) 986-6084 or faxing (573) 986-6083.

The program includes a number of guest speakers, break-out sessions, networking opportunities and exhibits provided by government contractors and local, state, and federal agencies. The conference is open to business owners and all other interested individuals.

A focus of the Procurement Conference will be the HUBZone empowerment contracting program providing both federal prime contract and subcontract benefits to small business. A HUBZone is a "historically underutilized business zone." Congress created the program and designed it to stimulate economic development by providing federal contracting opportunities to small businesses. There are many federally designated HUBZones in Southeast Missouri.