Spotsylvania conference offers tips for federal contractors while trying to woo them to the county

Date published: 11/10/2007

By PAMELA GOULD

Spotsylvania Economic Development Director Russell Seymour rolled out the welcome mat to federal contractors during a half-day conference in the county this week.

He left no doubt about his interest in attracting such companies, opening and closing the session by promising: "We will do what it takes not only to get you here but to keep you here."

And he essentially threw down the gauntlet, adding: "You will not find a more committed county to your business success than Spotsylvania County."

Billed as a "new directions in federal contracting conference," Wednesday's event was organized by Spotsylvania and the Washington chapter of TiE. TiE, which stands for The Innovative Ecosystem, is a not-for-profit network of entrepreneurs and professionals.

More than 170 people signed up for the conference, roughly 120 of them from outside Spotsylvania.

The key attraction appeared to be tips about how to take advantage of the military realignments resulting from the latest Base Realignment and Closure process.

Each of the bases in the Fredericksburg region--Quantico Marine Corps Base, Fort A.P. Hill and the Navy base at Dahlgren--is seeing impacts from the changes that go into effect by 2011.

Hugh Montgomery, a Spotsylvania resident who served 15 years as head of research and development for the Navy, and two years as technical director of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, provided pointers for obtaining federal contracts in what he termed "Bureaucracy 101."

Among them: Spend your time with people who have power to make decisions, which he defined as colonels or above in the military, and GS-15s or above on the civilian side.

Montgomery, who is currently executive director of the Institute for Defense and Homeland Security, also gave a primer on the three categories of people associated with contract work, and told the business leaders that appreciating the distinctions would help them succeed.

The first were political appointees, whom he described as smart, energetic, talented and results-driven, but generally around for only about 18 months.

The second were military personnel, whom he described as honest, highly patriotic and dedicated but in their positions for only two to three years. He also noted that because of their training, they are "risk-averse."

The final group were civil servants, whom he described as honest, patriotic and usually dedicated. In contrast to the first two, they think long-term, he said.

Chuck Floyd, executive director of OfficialBRAC.org, said the military transformation offers broad opportunities for businesses. He advised companies to study the changes under way and then target the opportunities that fit what they can provide.

He offered his web site as a starting point and suggested companies get in touch with major contractors to try to partner with them.

Seymour said he'd like to see the contractors conference become an annual event, helping build on the number of defense contractors that already call Spotsylvania home.

Increasing the number of federal contractors here is a matter of changing people's mind-sets and helping them see the benefit of utilizing the skilled work force that's currently spending up to four hours a day on Interstate 95, Seymour said.

Date published: 11/10/2007