Meet the Buyers Extravaganza is a government contracting event where businesses can advance their contracting knowledge, connect with other business owners, and network directly with government representatives and buyers.
Extravaganza Outcomes:
Opportunity to learn from and engage with procurement, purchasing, prime and subcontractors.
A no-schedule necessary networking portion where you can speak with as many agencies as you'd like.
Start new agency/prime relationships or advance existing ones.
We Welcome:
Business owners who are new to the government market
Business owners who are experienced government contractors
Service providers seeking to work with small businesses
Primes and agencies seeking small business partners
We encourage people in all stages of their government contracting journey to attend as everyone can learn something new, make important connections, and promote their business in a low-stakes environment.
What to Bring:
Multiple copies of your capability statement
Plenty of business cards.
Have a well-written elevator pitch ready to go is handy as well.
Event Schedule:
8:00 AM — Event Registration and Networking
8:30 AM — Welcome + Opening Remarks
8:45 AM — Unlocking Procurement Potential: Strategies from Government Procurement Specialists - Panel of Government Representatives including:
City of Roanoke Procurement Department
Roanoke City Public Schools Procurement
Roanoke Valley Resource Authority
Town of Vinton
Virginia Tech Procurement
9:45 AM — Navigating the Government Contracting Landscape: Insights from Successful Business Owners — panel of Business Owners including:
Baraka Kasongo, Volatia
Jennifer Eddy, Eddy Alexander
Lisa Sink, Ride Source
Nadean Carson, Oya Construction
10:30 AM — Go Connect — Meet the Buyers — A no-schedule necessary networking portion where you can speak with as many agencies as you'd like. Buyers and Procurement Specialists from the following agencies will be on site:
City of Roanoke Procurement Department
City of Roanoke General Services Department
Roanoke City Public Schools Procurement
Roanoke Valley Resource Authority
Town of Vinton
Valley Metro Procurement
Virginia Community College Shared Services Center Procurement
Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity
Virginia Tech Procurement
11:30 AM — Meet the Buyers Extravaganza concludes
Registration Fees:
Business Owners - $15.00 per person to attend. Coffee, water and light refreshments are included with the registration. Register through the link below.
Local, State, Federal Government Agencies - $30.00 per agency. The registration fee includes registration for two people from the same agency, a 20”x6’ table to share information about your agency before and during the vendor meet + greet portion of the event, coffee, water and light refreshments. The registration fee helps support advising and training for small businesses in our region. Contact Heather Fay, hfay@roanokesmallbusiness.org or 540-632-1174 to learn more and register.
Refunds are not available. The registration fee for the event covers the planning, preparation, and materials that are coordinated in advance.
Special thank you to the Town of Vinton for providing the Vinton War Memorial for the Meet the Buyers Extravaganza!
Fine Print:
Our workshops, events, and programs are designed with a small business owner in mind. Actionable, sharing of ideas, and takeaways to keep things straight. Pre-registration is required to receive the instructions to attend the workshop.
The SBDC reserves the right to cancel a workshop/event/program for insufficient enrollment, weather emergencies, and other unforeseen circumstances. Should a cancellation occur we will use the email you provided to contact you. Pre-registration is highly recommended. If an event is canceled or postponed and you have not pre-registered we will not be able to contact you.
All programs of the Virginia SBDC are open to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance.