News Search

7th CONS brings small businesses to Dyess AFB

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kaitlin Cashin
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

The 7th Contracting Squadron hosted a Small Business Roadshow at Dyess Jan. 9, 2023, to help educate small business owners in the local community.

The roadshow included training and educational resources for small businesses seeking partner with the government and communicated upcoming contract opportunities at Dyess AFB, Goodfellow AFB, and Sheppard AFBs. 

“Dyess is known for our community partnerships, and our outreach to small businesses is a critical aspect of meeting our mission needs locally without having to outsource.” said Col. Todd Jensen, 7th Mission Support Group commander.

By law, federal agencies are required to seek out qualified suppliers and service providers from small businesses, woman-owned businesses, service-disabled or veteran-owned businesses and companies located in Historically Underutilized Business zones.

Each MAJCOM sets goals for how many contracts must be completed by small businesses. The 7th Bomb Wing goal for Small Business typically is around 84-86 percent annually and continues to exceed this goal averaging 94-96 percent.

For fiscal year 2022, Dyess completed 465 small business contract actions, representing 94.5 percent of the total amount of Dyess' actions. The contracts from this past year included custodial services, elevator maintenance, medical services, and construction projects amounting a total value of $63 million.

Merry Sargent-Green is the Director of Business Operations at the 7th CONS.

“The 7th Contracting squadron has continued to exceed all efforts to grow and partner with the Dyess community and Small Businesses,” says Sargent-Green. “We are grateful for the community interest in the roadshow and support for our small business program. By hosting these events annually, we can bolster partnerships that enable us to meet requirements here at Dyess.”

This year’s event engaged 80 venders from various businesses including Small Business Administration, Abilene Military Affairs Committee, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Army Corps of Engineers, and representatives from Goodfellow AFB and Sheppard AFB.

Second Lieutenant Tate Elie, 7th CONS contracts manager, emceed the Small Business Roadshow. 

“It was a great opportunity for our contracting office to connect with and have candid conversations with the small businesses that support the Dyess and Abilene community.” 

Elie said, “It was personally rewarding to hear that many of our small business owners found the roadshow informative and mentioned it would help their businesses tremendously.”

If a small business owner is looking to work with a government entity, their first step should be contacting their local Small Business Development Center. All requirements that are estimated above $250K are posted on the Government point of entry, www.SAM.Gov. Additionally, Abilene's SBDC can be reached at (325) 670-0300.