Bush has done a lot. Kerry
promises more, but can he deliver?
With the
upcoming election, we thought it vitally important to
provide you with a synopsis of where each major
candidate stands on issues relevant to veteran-owned
businesses. Senator Kerry provided Veterans Business
Journal with an exclusive interview highlighting his
positions on veteran-owned small business issues, as
seen below. At the time of publication, we were not able
to get an interview with President Bush.
Perhaps
President Bush’s most notable achievement was the
signing of Public Law 108-183 in December 2003. This
important law, which added teeth to PL 106-50, brought
to light that these SDVOB goals were not being met and
furthermore, provided contracting officers with
necessary tools to make these goals more achievable.
WOBs
got it. SDBs got it. SDVOBs are getting it. What about
the VOBs?
By Mike
Woelflein Birth right, minority, disability? NO!
Deserving? Yes! Veteran Business Owners fight for their
shot at a Federal Procurement Goal.
For more
than a year, TJ Parro has been trying to do business
with the Department of Veterans Affairs. So far, the
owner of Windsor Software (www.windsorcorp.com), a
technology and Internet consulting firm in Woodbury,
Minn., hasn’t succeeded, but he’s not giving up. Parro,
a retired Navy E-5 who flew on search and rescue
helicopter missions in the Pacific from 1973 to 1977,
focused his government contracting efforts on the VA
because the agency says it wants to award seven percent
of its contracts to veteran-owned small businesses. That
goal has been around for almost 20 years, but the agency
has never come close to fulfilling it.
Former Marine Mark Llano is
battle ready when it comes to doing business with the
DoD.
Mike Woelflein When Mark Llano started Source One Distributors in
February 2003, he immediately had to embark on a tough
set of negotiations with his then 5-year-old daughter,
Brooke, so he could set up his office in her bedroom
Luckily, his Florida-based business — supplying
safety and tactical gear to troops — provided Llano with
just the currency Brooke wanted: Chemical light sticks
that the military uses for a host of applications and
are also fun for a youngster.
“I told her I’d
give her 25 light sticks if she moved her toys for me,”
Llano says. “About a week later, they were gone, and she
said, ‘I don’t think I got such a great deal.’ So I told
her to come work with me, put labels on the catalogs,
and I’d give her light sticks.”
Bush has done a lot. Kerry
promises more, but can he deliver? 
By Mike
Woelflein
Mike Woelflein