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2/17/12 Mark your calendars now!
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Mark your calendars now! WCOE members lead very busy lives and calendars are usually packed full months in advance. Make it a point now to mark your calendars for the WCOE Regional Conferences scheduled for the rest of the year:
Plus, even though the 2012 Annual Congressional and Leadership Conference has just concluded, we are already working on 2013 which promises to be even bigger and better than this year. Make sure to reserve April 17-20, 2013 for travel to Washington, DC. WCOE made quite an impression on Capitol Hill this year and it is important that we build on that momentum. It's time for Congress to understand that women actually do own successful construction companies and we want our position known on pending legislation and regulation. |
Welcome to our newest California Member Please join us in welcoming our new member Danette M. Jones of Marsh USA in Los Angeles, CA. Danette attended our Annual Leadership Conference last week and was apparently impressed with the WCOE members that she met – and now she's our newest California member. Danette is a Senior Vice President and Construction Practice Leader with the Southwest Partnership of global insurance broker and risk advisor, Marsh. Prior to joining Marsh in late 2010, Danette worked exclusively with construction clients at Aon. We are delighted to welcome Dannette to WCOE and you can personally say hello at danette.m.jones@marsh.com or 213.346.5264. |
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WCOE President is YouTube star Check out the video – Rosana Privitera Biondo testified before the House Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce last week. Her testimony, as well as the entire 2 hour hearing is captured on video and available for you to see. Her written testimony (which differs from and expands upon the verbal testimony) is also posted on our website for the world to see. Rosie's testimony is on tape 2 and don't miss the Q&A session from Congressman Hanna (R-NY) on tape 5&6 who challenges Rosie's testimony – and Rosie fires back. The last tape is primarily testimony and responses from federal agency heads who were also asked to testify. The WCOE YouTube channel for all of our videos, including this series, is http://www.youtube.com/user/WCOEUSA. |
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Are you a "Winning Woman"? Ernst & Young has announced their 2012 Winning Women application is now available on line and WCOE members are encouraged to apply. Now in its fifth year, Entrepreneurial Winning Women is a competitive award and leadership program designed to connect high-potential women entrepreneurs with the advisors, resources and insights they need to become market leaders. Applicants must be women CEOs who have founded their companies within the past 10 years and have achieved at least $1 million in revenue in each of the past two. Details are available at www.ey.com/us/entrepreneurialwinningwomen. Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2012.
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OFCCP proposes new rules on affirmative action The office of Federal Contracting Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is set to issue new regulations regarding hiring individuals with disabilities. If you have a direct contract (including construction) with the federal government or its agencies valued at more than $10K, you would be required to complete additional statistical analysis of your workforce regardless of where projects are located or how long they last. Under the proposed rule, contractors and subcontractors would be required to set a hiring goal of 7% of their employees in each job group to be workers with disabilities. Also under consideration is a sub-goal of 2% for individuals with severe disabilities such as total deafness, blindness or missing extremities. Several construction industry groups are asking that construction be exempted from this requirement. |
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Reverse Auctions – coming soon to a contract near you The latest rage in government contracting is something called “reverse auctions”. While the impetus is to save the government money, one can't help but wonder if “you get what you pay for” might come into play here? The process seems simple enough: A government agency posts a contract opportunity on line and suppliers enter bids. The government selects the company with the lowest price. Price is the only criteria evaluated. While that might work for commodities like pencils and paper, some agencies are looking at adding construction projects to the reverse auction process. Is construction a commodity? Does it not matter at all if the contractor is reputable? If a contractor says they can build it and they submit the lowest price, the deal is done and the government will have to live with the consequences. Can anyone say “penny wise and pound foolish”? WCOE will be watching this movement as it progresses through the various agencies. If you learn of a construction project that is in a reverse auction, please send an email to penny@wcoeusa.org. |
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New bid opportunities for WCOE members Posted almost on a daily basis are new bid opportunities from major prime contractors specifically looking for WBE organizations. All you have to do is go to our website – log in (because this is a members-only service) and check them out. They are from all across the country so unless your contract pipeline is flowing over, you might want to check them out. |
Mid-Atlantic Members take notice Hansel-Phelps is hosting a MDOT MBE/DBE Information and Networking Event on February 21, 2012 from 1 to 3 pm at the BWI Airport Marriott, 1743 West Nursery Road, Linthicum Heights, MD. The bid opportunities being discussed are for the BWI B/C Security Checkpoint and Connector project. Space is limited so please RSVP to hanselphelps@ureach.com or call 877.571.5415. |
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White House announces two SBO initiatives Several new online courses focused on helping small business owners understand and become government contractors has been announced. There is also a call for nominations for great mentors and counselors to be recognized by the White House for supporting small business owners.
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Women Construction Owners and Executives |
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