WHO: U.S. Small Business Administration Nebraska District Director Leon Milobar, Client/Server Software Solutions (CSSS.NET) President and CEO Lisa Wolford.

 

WHAT: The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Nebraska District Office invites members of the press and other dignitaries to attend an awards ceremony recognizing Lisa Wolford as the SBA’s Nebraska Veteran Services Champion of the Year for 2011.

 

This award recognizes individuals who have fulfilled a commitment to advancing small business opportunities for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

 

WHERE:  CSSS.NET headquarters, 3906 Raynor Parkway, Suite 201, Bellevue (near 36th Street and Nebraska Highway 370)  

 

WHEN:  April 27, 2011, 11 a.m.

 

Background on Event Principal:

 

Lisa Wolford Wolford is an advocate and mentor to other small businesses and particularly ones owned by veterans.  She sits on three boards all related to veterans:  Task Force For Veterans Entrepreneurship, NaVOBA (National Association of Veteran Owned Businesses) and the At-Ease Center, a program that provides PTSD treatment for veterans and their families at either free or a reduced cost in Nebraska.  Wolford, a former Marine Corps corporal, is a disabled veteran.  CSSS.NET maintains hiring preferences for veterans and currently has performers in over 18 states across the nation.  

 

Wolford also is a strong voice on Capitol Hill regarding small business contracting opportunities.  She testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs during a hearing on contract building oversight in July 2007, bringing to the attention of lawmakers a situation which often placed obstacles in the way of small businesses seeking federal opportunities.  Two years later, she testified before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to help ensure service-disabled veteran-owned firms get first crack at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) contracting work.

 

CSSS.NET relies on federal contracts for 100 percent of its revenues, including 65 percent from the Defense Department.  Her company's headquarters is located in Bellevue, NE,  almost a stone's throw from Offutt Air Force Base. The largest government contract CSSS.NET has received is from the VA, overseeing the fifth largest deployment of Microsoft Exchange ever implemented and providing network and computer support to veterans’ health locations nationwide.  CSSS.NET is also a prime contractor to the Environmental Protection Agency, and United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. 

 

Over the past 18 months, more than 880 SBA-backed loans for $250 million have been approved for small businesses in Nebraska, creating more than 3,300 new jobs.