FAR and Beyond Blog
It is an exciting time for the Coalition for Common Sense in Government Procurement! As you know, on the evening of November 5th the Coalition will begin its 2014 Fall Training Conference with Excellence in Partnership (EIP) honors & a 35th Anniversary Gala at the Ronald Reagan Building. The conference will continue on November 6th at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. We look forward to seeing you! Please don’t delay registration. Register by October 22nd!
Excellence in Partnership
The evening’s festivities will include our 15th Annual Excellence in Partnership (EIP) honors. The EIP honors acquisition officials who have made significant strides in promoting and utilizing government-wide contracting vehicles. Awards will be given to individuals, organizations, and contractors involved in federal government procurement.
35th Anniversary – Supporting our Veterans
In honor of our 35thAnniversary, the Coalition, in partnership with The George Washington University, established the Coalition for Government Procurement Endowed Government Procurement Scholarship/Fellowship Fund. The fund will support qualified veterans pursuing a law or master’s degree with a concentration on US Government procurement. This fund combines the two pillars of the Coalition: (1) Common sense acquisition policy, procedures and programs; and (2) Support for our veterans as they transition to civil life.
Guest speaker, Marine Corps Veteran Cory Gritter
The evening’s events will include a networking reception with dinner, and a conversation with Cory Gritter, a medically retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps and President of Gritter-Francona, Inc., a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that focuses on Information Technology and Cyber Security services.
Cory started his company in January of 2013 and has successfully grown it to 35 employees over the last 18 months. Cory coined the tag line “The Veteran Edge” for his company on the belief that the training and leadership skills veterans learn in their service is second to none. He is the exemplar for determination, good attitude and work ethic and actively seeks out veterans to hire for his firm and is convinced that they will help him build a solid set of values upon which the company can grow and thrive.
In 2005 Cory fulfilled his lifelong dream of serving his country as a U.S. Marine. In 2008 he was selected to attend the Marine Scout Sniper Basic course, where upon completion, he also attended the Urban Sniper course, graduating at the top of the class. Cory was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 where he led an elite Scout Sniper team in ground combat operations. During one of his missions he was severely wounded by an IED and evacuated to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he spent the next 3 ½ years in recovery and endured over 20 surgeries.
For the last year and a half of his recovery Cory worked with his Marine Corps leadership and participants from the Wounded Warrior Mentoring Program to prepare for his transition to civilian life. He interned at the Pentagon under Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) Command, Control, Communications & Computers Cyber (C4 CY) and with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace (MARFORCYBER) Marine Corps Network Operations and Security Center (MCNOSC) in Quantico, VA. During that period Cory also interned with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC), learning the skills necessary to be a successful cyber security professional.
Silent Auction
A silent auction benefitting the Coalition for Government Procurement Endowed Government Procurement Scholarship/Fellowship Fund will take place on this evening. All proceeds of the auction will go to the fund.
We are gratified at the support we have received from across the procurement community for the creation of the fund and excited to be off to a great start with community support. You too can help a veteran at The George Washington University by participating in the auction.
Here is a current list of the items donated for the silent auction:
- Suite at the Verizon Center (18 seats + 3 parking passes) for February 3rd at 7:00 p.m. when the Caps play the Kings (Stanley Cup Champions) – donated by Lockheed Martin
- Box Seats at Nationals Park – donated by Baker Tilly
- Golf Lessons and a Foursome – donated by Whiskey Creek Golf Club
- Patriotic Quilt – made and donated by Robin Klonarides of Raytheon
- Football signed by Ron “Jaws” Jaworski and Dick “Coach” Vermeil – donated by The Judge Group
- NFL Football Helmet signed by Alfred Morris, Ahmad Bradshaw, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jason Witten, and 12 others – donated by Berkeley Research Group and the NFL Players Association
- 4 tickets for the Wizards vs Denver Nuggets game on 12/5 – donated by Federal News Radio
- Six Award Winning Personal Finance books signed by author Ric Edelman – donated by Ric Edelman
- Complimentary Night Stay at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel – donated by Marriott
- Complimentary Weekend Stay at The Liaison Capitol Hill PLUS Dinner for two at Art & Soul – donated by Affinia Hotel Collection
- Coffee Table Book from the Degas/Cassatt and Rockwell exhibitions plus a canvas tote bag – donated by Booz Allen Hamilton
- Russell Stover Chocolate Basket – donated by Russell Stover
- Catered Chicken Taco Bar for 10 from Qdoba – donated by Qdoba
- Tour and Tasting for 4 at RdV Vineyards in VA – donated by RdV
Fall Conference
The Fall Conference is an unparalleled opportunity to find out about current and future initiatives affecting contractors selling commercial items into the federal market. We have a great line up of speakers. Click here to see the complete agenda.
Please register as soon as possible!
We look forward to your support on the evening of November 5th!! It will be a special event supporting our nation’s veterans and acquisition excellence. For logistical purposes, we do need to have a fairly accurate headcount for this two day event by October 22nd, so please don’t delay registration. Contact Matt Cahill at 202-315-1054 or mcahill@thecgp.org if you have any questions, or click here to register!
Roger Waldron
President