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GRAPEVINE NEWS TO USE:

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JOB FAIRS 2023

Boston Veterans Job Fair – Sep 14
Military Community Job Fair at Fort Riley – Sep 14

COMMUNITY

9/11 Memorial Stadium Stair Climb at Clemson University – Sep 11
National Veterans Memorial and Museum Patriot Day Ceremony – Sep 11
Gary Sinise Lt. Dan Band Concert (Erie, PA) – Sep 11
Hispanic and Latino Veteran Outreach, Engagement, and Enrollment – Sep 13
West Texas VA Women Veterans Town Hall (Online) – Sep 14
Veteran Creative Arts Festival & Resource Fair (Butler, PA) – Sep 14

 

RESOURCES 2023

PACT Act Claims Filing (College Park, GA) – Sep 8
Veterans Benefits Seminar (Antioch, CA) – Sep 9
6th Annual Hero's Journey Symposium – Sep 14
National Resource Directory Overview (Online) – Sep 14
"Revitalizing Caregivers: The Power of Respite" – Sep 14
Arthritis and the Military: The Mental Health-Pain Connection – Sep 14

 

31. "UNIQUE IDENTITY" is replacing DUNS for contractor identification on SAM

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30. Woman Owned set-aside has dominated the first two quarters of FY2020 in Federal Contracting.

 

29. The Veterans Administration along the Western US has been issuing short term opportunities this year instead of five year contracts. I suspect a consolidation of CBOC's and some VAMC centers is forthcoming in the form of combined contracts with 5 year performance periods. Look to late 2020 for these consolidated solicitations to post to the new BETA.SAM.GOV.

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28. FBO has just been weird this past year! Has to do with the new administration and manipulation.

27. Number 26 below is now in its third procurement process December 2017.

26. NATIVE CONTRACTORS award for Georgia National Cemetery removed and project will re-compete summer of 2017

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25. NATIVE CONTRACTORS IS LARGE BUSINESS 561730 - FPDS SHOWS 9.7 MILLION 3 YEAR GROSS FOR 7.5 MILLION MAX ALLOWED. LOOKING LIKE SOMEONE AT VA IS TAKING MONEY UNDER THE TABLE NOW WITH MANY SOLE SOURCE AWARDS TO NATIVE FOR EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS BEYOND ESTIMATIONS - MILLIONS!!

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24. The VA keeps going out of their way to award NATIVE Contractors A LARGE CORPORATION awards for SDVOB Small Business contracts - shame on the VA!

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23. FBO has posted the first indication of a Southern US Wall being contracted as of yesterday 24 Feb 2017

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22. Golden Svcs, LLC (Security Guard Company) is NOW a LARGE business 01/31/2017

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21. The entire week has been record breaking numbers of FBO posting 19-21 Dec 2016 So Far.

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20. December 15th 2016 was a day to remember for over 1100 posting for Federal Projects of value.

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19. Logistics tips posted to web site as of 27 Nov 2016

 

18. Ft Belvoir is looking for the next Base Operations Contractor/Team. Make sure you start preparing early.

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17. Trend this past two weeks in leaning to performance for awards and not LPTA.

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16. Send a message this Veterans Day 2016 using the following VA link:

https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/49362-honoring-all-who-served

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15. The Veterans Administration is overlooking due diligence and making awards to LARGE contractors for SMALL set-aside SDVOB projects. SPECIFIC Example is the most recent award for the Houston National Cemetery to "NATIVE CONTRACTORS INC DUNS 18295589" for a contract that has an 8 million dollar three year average size standard for Grounds Maintenance WHERE THIS COMPANY HAS A THREE YEAR GROSS CLEARLY SHOWN ON THE FEDERAL DATABASE OF AWARDS OF BETWEEN 16 MILLION AND 21 MILLION.  Shame on the VA for taking money out of the mouths of smaller SDVOB companies who should receive this type of award.

 

MONTH OF OCTOBER 2016 GRAPEVINE NEWS:

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14. Good Legal Advise can be just what you need - always ask a Lic. Contract Law Attorney if you feel you are being cheated or manipulated by a contracting agency.... There are many of these government agencies that will take from you without concern for your company (LIKE THE VA IS DOING IN THE ABOVE AWARD MADE THIS PAST WEEK OF 31 October 2016)

 

13. Get ahead of the pack.... know what a contractor is paid for their services - https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en/

 

 

12. Always stay in touch with the contracting representative (weekly sometimes required) to keep up to date.

 

 

11. Always reference your schedule pricing to make sure you have the correct time frame for service.

 

10. Software Purchase of value - It's worth your time and money to purchase the Adobe products.. to complete Government Forms and manipulate solicitation documents in order to create a professional looking proposal.

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9. Always follow up with a phone call to the contracting representative before you ship documents. Even though they may not know of any extensions... this is the best approach to avoid shipping when an early morning (day before) decision has been made to extend the contract.. Most contracting offices have meetings between 7 and 8am to discuss these issues for the day, and usually a Friday briefing that recaps their efforts and discusses options for all contracts and work issues related to contractors.

 

8. Always state your willingness to pay when requesting incumbent project data... If this data falls under FOIA this will require the office you sent the request in to respond within 20 days (most policy)... but if you don't indicate a willingness to pay then this can delay the process and you will probably receive the information after your proposal is to be turned in.

 

7. LOOK TO GROUNDS AND CUSTODIAL SERVICES TO REMAIN VERY ACTIVE IN SOLICITATIONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. My studies of the next 5 years from late 2016 through the early part of 2021 reflect 1.2 billion dollars in awards will be made. Below is the chart showing the specific set-aside for these awards:

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6. Never rule out that you may be the only company to bid a project... this has happened 2 times this year with both DOD and GSA solicitations.

 

5. Someone once told me "A Good Day in contracting is the mortal enemy of a Great Day... " give it 110% and your rewards will be great... Congrats to our Client who won projects listed on the WIN tab of this web site - Great Day I would say for them...

 

4. Look to the internet for value information... you can often find what an incumbent is being paid for the work, or how much Gross Revenue a company is making... just in case they were outside of the size standard for a job... but did not mention it to the contracting office.. It pays to research your work... keep your sources in mind also...the data you find had to be input by carbon based units (human error)... so always verify data if you are going to use it in protest.

 

3. Always ask for a debriefing after you have been notified that you have not been accepted on a contract. always ask for a breakdown of the evaluation... if refused... protest to the GAO not the Agency first... the Agency made that decision in the first place. Several rulings have been in favor of these protests due to evaluation discrepancies.

 

2. A picture is worth a thousand words... right? - invest in todays new digital camera technology. BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA.!!.. obtain approval from the customer and start taking it to your site visits. You can incorporate the photo's you take into your Proposal, Quality Plans, Safety Plans and Training Programs for the employees. The photo's are good to present to your personnel who will be preparing your cost analysis and technical (when required), and in general, this is a way to achieve maximum involvement in the development of the project.

 

1. The Army Corps has numerous facility maintenance jobs each year that involve mostly custodial, grounds and general maintenance services for large Lake/Campgrounds throughout the United States.. These projects involve very little construction (in most Cases) and are a good project for a company looking to expand from just Grounds or Custodial services.

 

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