Albany Matchmaker & Expo - Friday, September 5, 2008

The recent inaugural 2008 Albany Matchmaker & Expo provided a unique setting for small businesses to find procurement opportunities with purchasing representatives from over 35 agencies, colleges and prime contractors. The event was held on September 5th at The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center and featured more than 1,100 dynamic matchmaker appointments, often called “speed dating for business.” Over 200 small business attendees from across Upstate New York were able to present their products and services in one-on-one appointments with the decision maker of an agency, college or prime contractor. 

Participating agencies included federal, state and local agencies such as US DOT, US GSA, NYS DOT, and NYS Dormitory Authority to name a few. Prime contractors included Xerox, National Grid, KAPL, Turner Construction and many more (view complete list of matchmaker participants below). Attending small businesses were able to network with small business service providers at the expo (see list of exhibitors below) and learn about marketing tips for winning contracts, selling to New York State and selling to Uncle Sam in concurrent workshops presented by representatives from the SBA, ESD, NYS OGS, and Rochester PTAC. 

The SBA Syracuse District Office recognized three minority entrepreneurs at the matchmaker in celebration of National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week: 8(a) Graduate of the Year Award Winner James Jordan, Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award Winner Antonio Abrantes, and Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award Runner Up Tony Baird. Visit the SBA Syracuse District Office MED Week Award Winners website to learn more about the award winners.

With the success of this year’s matchmaker, plans are already in the works for the 2009 Albany Matchmaker & Expo, anticipated to be held in September. Be sure to check our SBA Syracuse District Office website for the announcement of the date of open registration. We expect that next year’s matchmaker will be repeat this year’s sold-out event, so do not delay in registering if government contracting is an important part of your small business success. 

If you are interested in learning more about federal certifications that can help your small business win government contracts, or about the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program, please contact Jim Quackenbush at 315-471-9393 ext. 252 or james.quackenbush@sba.gov.

The 2009 Albany Matchmaker & Expo will be held on Thursday, September 10 at The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Albany, New York. If you would like to participate in next year's Albany Matchmaker & Expo as an agency, college, or prime contractor, contact Rachael Stanton at 315-471-9393 ext. 244 or rachael.stanton@sba.gov. We will be sending out save the date cards in November 2008 to allow for budgeting and planning purposes.

Agenda of the 2008 Albany Matchmaker & Expo

Sponsors

The U.S. Small Business Administration Syracuse District Office, Small Business Development Center-University at Albany, New York Business Development Corporation, the Business Review, and the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce sponsored the Albany Matchmaker & Expo at The Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Albany, New York.

Matchmaker Participants
Albany County, Capital District Transportation Authority, Clough Harbour & Associates Engineering, Cornell University, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering,  IBM, KAPL, National Grid, NYS Department of Transportation, NYS Dormitory Authority, NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, NYS Environmental Facilities Corps, NYS Chief Information Officer/ Office for Technology, NYS Office of Children and Family Services, NYS OGS Design & Construction, NYS OGS Procurement Services Group, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, NYS Police, NYS Thruway Authority Construction Management, NYS Thruway Authority Procurement Services, Northland Associates, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rochester PTAC, State University of New York (SUNY), Turner Construction, University at Albany, US Army Contracting Agency-Fort Drum, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Department of Air Force Research Laboratory- Rome, US Department of Army-Watervliet Arsenal, US Department of Transportation, US Department of Veterans' Affairs Medical Centers- Albany and Buffalo, US General Services Administration, United States Military Academy at West Point, US Property and Fiscal Office for State of New York, US Small Business Administration, Watertown PTAP, Volmar Construction, and Xerox.

Exhibitors
The U.S. Small Business Administration Syracuse District Office, Small Business Development Center-University at Albany, New York Business Development Corporation, the Business Review, Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, NYS Contract Reporter, NYS Office of General Services, FedExKinko's, SSA, Berkshire Bank, HSBC, NBT Bank, SEFCU, SCORE, Turner Construction, CNA Surety, and Maynard, O'Connor, Smith & Catalinotto, LLP.

Cosponsorship Authorization # 08-0248-97. SBA's participation in this co-sponsored event is not an endorsement of views, opinions, products, or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs or cosponsored programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminational basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made by request in advance to 518-485-7647.