AardQuest Goes to White House; Gets Involved in Procurement Policy Discussions & Advocacy

On June 9th, our EVP/General Counsel, John Richards, participated in a Minority Business Summit sponsored by the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency as well as an associated luncheon and Annual Meeting of the Minority Business Roundtable .  Much of the discussions focused on ways in which the federal procurement process could be made to work more effectively for small and minority business concerns.

The highlight of the Summit was a visit to the White House for briefings and vigorous discussions with members of the Obama Administration regarding the Administration’s stance on issues affecting small and minority businesses.  AardQuest attended on its own behalf and as a team member of the Reddix Group , which had a number of other consortium members in attendance, including CollabNet, Lore Systems and Pinnacle Worldwide.

The day wound up with a reception in the (Senator Edward M.) Kennedy Caucus Room   in the Russell Senate Office Building, with a stirring address and call to arms to promote and advance the aims of small and minority businesses by Senator Robert Menendez (D. NJ), a leading advocate for the cause of small businesses in the Nation’s capital.

AardQuest also subsequently submitted comments on behalf of itself and the Reddix Group to the Administration’s Interagency Task Force convened by the President to explore improvements to the federal procurement process, particularly as they might relate to bolstering access for small and minority businesses.  The comments essentially argue for amending acquisition regulations to promote the notion of consortium-based teaming across the U.S. Government.

Stay tuned for additional developments in this space!