WINCHESTER, Va. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District staff met with more than 300 contractor representatives during the Industry Day event held Oct. 16 at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.
The Industry Day event allows contractor representatives to learn about the Middle East District’s mission, future contract opportunities that may become available, network with each other, and hear from District personnel on various topics.
“Industry Day allows government contractors to meet with and hear from Middle East District personnel and each other about topics that are important to them and their business,” said Col. Vincent Quarles, Middle East District commander. “The event also allows attendees to network among themselves and share their lessons learned, success stories, and contracting best practices for potential future partnership opportunities.”
During opening remarks, Quarles spoke about how the District is adjusting to future needs, challenges the District is facing, and ways that those challenges can be overcome.
“What we do isn’t always easy,” he said. “Rather than focus on the negative, it’s better to partner and work on things together.”
During the program, Tom Waters, Middle East District deputy for programs and project management, spoke to attendees about fiscal year ’15 projections and the importance of the partnership between the U.S. government and contractors.
“We’re here because we want to learn how you can benefit from us and how we can also benefit from you,” Waters said. “It’s all about partnership.”
Other topics covered during the event included upcoming potential work in countries within the Middle East District’s area of responsibility, acquisition processes improvement initiatives, and how industry best practices can be used to improve government performance and improve U.S. government and industry partnerships.
Following the presentations, Middle East District representatives participated in a question and answer session.
Mike Calhoun, director, business development with SOS International LLC based in Reston, Va., attended the event.
“Like most of the attendees, we are looking at what work is coming down the pipeline, what are the government’s needs and how can we help,” he said.
According to Calhoun, the networking opportunity Industry Day presents is also valuable.
“This is all about forming teams and putting together partnerships that can benefit everyone involved,” he said.
According to Quarles Industry Day was a success and similar events will be planned for the future.
“The event was a huge success and we hope that attendees were able to learn a great deal about our mission and contracting processes,” Quarles said. “We plan to hold future events and that information will be posted to the District’s website when available.”