August Showcase Small Business Seminar and Matchmaker

Just Added: Mark Amtower, Amtower & Company, celebrating 31 years as marketing advisor to the most successful companies in the government market - "End of Fiscal Year Marketing Tactics for Small Businesses" 

Speaker Schedule: 

 9: 00 AM  Bill McFadden, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Interior: "There Will be Plenty of Small Business Opportunities in the Last 6 Weeks of the Year" 

 9:30 AM  VADM Lou Crenshaw USN (Ret.), Crenshaw Consulting Associates - “Small Business Risks and Aerodynamics” 

10:00 AM  Mark Amtower, Amtower & Company, celebrating 31 years as marketing advisor to the most successful companies in the government market - "End of Fiscal Year Marketing Tactics for Small Businesses" 

10:30 AM  Jennifer L Schaus, Principal, Jennifer Schaus and Associates -  "GSA Schedules" 

11:00 AM  Richard Lewis, President, Financial Engineering Counselors: “Alternative Financing for Government Contractors” 

11:15 AM - 11:45 PM: MatchMaker / Speaker: Expo walk through. Vendor Attendees without Expo Tables: Lunch Break Commences 

11:45 AM - 12:40 PM:  MatchMaker / Speaker, Expo: Lunch Break Commences 

12:40 PM  William L. Blumberg, Federal Contract Solutions, DFAS Ombudsman (Ret.) - "View From The Other Side, How the Government Views You" 

 1:10 PM  Tom Johnson, Set Aside Alert: “Best Small Business Strategies” 

Bill McFadden, United States Department of Interior

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States. The Department is administered by the United States Secretary of the Interior, who is a member of the Cabinet of the President. The current Secretary is Sally Jewell. There is not currently an appointed Inspector General. Mary Kendall is the acting Inspector General. Despite its name, the Department of the Interior has a different role from that of the interior ministries of other nations, which are usually responsible for routine police functions which are largely performed in the U.S. by state and local governments and national security and immigration functions which are performed by the Department of Homeland Security primarily and the Department of Justice secondarily. The Department of the Interior has often been humorously called "The Department of Everything Else" because of its broad range of responsibilities.

Vice Admiral Lou Crenshaw, CDFM United States Navy (Retired)

Lou Crenshaw is the Founder and President of Crenshaw Consulting Associates LLC.  Lou has a record of almost four decades of proven executive success in a broad range of leadership positions in the public and private sectors.  Lou has extensive experience in reorganization and realignment of large organizations with emphasis on financial issues and cross-functional alignment. 

Lou’s vision for CCA is to deliver C-Suite-level consulting services to commercial and government clients by providing advice and counsel in strategic planning, executive coaching and organizational restructuring.  CCA also provides assistance in capture management, client relationships and market analysis for commercial clients.  The firm additionally provides due diligence and pipeline/contract analysis services to private equity investors. 

Lou retired from partnership at Grant Thornton, LLP in 2013, where he was the Principal with responsibility for the firm’s national Aerospace and Defense practice, coordinating the delivery of tax, audit and business advisory services to over 50 clients.  Prior to this role, Lou served as the partner responsible for the Defense and Intelligence practice within the Global Public Sector of Grant Thornton, where he had experience managing and directing Defense/Intel  teams throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) to include the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Defense Agencies, military services and national intelligence agencies.  Significant engagements included U.S. Marine Corps Audit, Washington Headquarters Service advisory services, Defense Logistics Agency A76/MEO support, Missile Defense Agency accounting support, Navy BRAC support and numerous strategic sourcing efforts throughout DOD. 

During his over 30 years of service in the United States Navy, he commanded a Medium Attack Squadron (VA-85), a Carrier Air Wing (CVW-1) and an Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (John F. Kennedy Strike Group/ Carrier Group SIX). Lou is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and an experienced test project engineer at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, MD. As a Flag Officer, he specialized in financial operations and budgeting, serving three tours of duty in the Navy’s N-8 Programming and Budgeting Directorate, culminating his career as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and Assessments (N8).  Additionally he served as the Commander of U.S. Navy Activities, Europe where he commanded all Naval Bases located in Europe. 

Lou was selected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) in 2011. Established in 1967 and chartered by Congress, NAPA is a non-profit, independent coalition of top public management and organizational leaders who tackle the nation’s most critical and complex challenges. 

Lou continues to be active in several trade organizations and professional societies, including TECHAMERICA, where is a past Chairman of the Defense Committee.  He also donates his time to the American Society of Military Comptrollers as the Program Chairman for the National Capital Region Professional Development Institute. 

Lou is involved in the leadership of several non-profit organizations.  He serves as the Chairman of the Board of the Navy Safe Harbor Foundation, an organization providing support to the Navy and Coast Guard wounded warriors, and those who are seriously injured on active duty or seriously ill.  He also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Association of the United States Navy.  Lou additionally serves on the Board of the Fund for Charitable Giving, an affiliate of the National Presbyterian Church located in Washington, DC. He is on the Executive Advisory Board of Mission Readiness, an organization dedicated to improving pre-school education for America’s future leaders and serves on the National Security Advisory Council of the US Global Leadership Coalition, a non-partisan advocate for a strong international affairs budget as a matter of national security.  Lou and Marilyn Crenshaw reside in McLean, VA.  They have two adult children, Lew and Lauren and a host of grandchildren.  Lou and Marilyn spend their free time in Weems, VA and are frequent visitors to the local golf courses. 

Professional qualifications and memberships 

Certified Defense Financial Manager

Former Chairman of the TechAmerica Defense Committee

National Academy of Public Administration (Fellow)

Chairman, Navy Safe Harbor Foundation Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board and Lifetime Benefactor, Association of the United States Navy

National Security Advisory Council, US Global Leadership Coalition

Executive Advisory Board, Mission Readiness

Reston Chamber of Commerce

American Society of Military Comptrollers

Association of Government Accountants

National Defense Industrial Association (Life Member)

National Contract Management Association

U.S. Naval Institute

U. S. Naval Academy Alumni Association (Life Member)

Military Officers Association of America (Life Member)

Association of Naval Aviation

Tailhook Association

Education: 

U. S. Naval Test Pilot School, Patuxent River, MD

B.S in Ocean Engineering, U.S. Naval Academy

Trainings and certifications: 

Certified Defense Financial Manager (CDFM)

Graduate, Federal Executive Development Program

Black Sea Executive Program, Harvard University

Executive Business Course, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School

Innovation in Business Program, Babson College

Leadership at the Peak, Center for Creative Leadership

Capstone Course, National Defense University

Pinnacle Course, National Defense University

Expert Witness

Clearance: 

Top Secret/SBI

Military service: U.S. Navy, 1970 – 2007

Mark Amtower, Amtower & Company, celebrating 31 years as marketing advisor to the most successful companies in the government market.

LinkedIn posts are at  https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/markamtower

Leading B2G LinkedIn expert & trainer, award-winning government marketing consultant, speaker, Amazon best selling author, host of Amtower Off Center on Federal News Radio, and Founder & Director of the Government Market Master continuing professional education program.

Jennifer Schaus, Jennifer Schaus & Associates

Jennifer Schaus is founder and principal of Jennifer Schaus & Associates a Washington DC based boutique firm.  The organization helps companies with federal government contracting including GSA Schedules, SBA 8(a) Certification, proposal writing and federal sales.  Clients are domestic and foreign, product and service firms and include both small and many notable large companies. Ms. Schaus has almost 20 years of government contracting experience beginning her career with the Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.  A frequent speaker, Jennifer has also been quoted or published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Washington Business Journal, Government Product News and more. She holds a BA from Towson University, a Leadership Accelerator Certificate from UC Berkeley and is pursuing an Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University.  Ms. Schaus enjoys the arts and fitness in her spare time.

Richard Lewis, President, Financial Engineering Counselors, Ltd.

Richard Lewis formed Financial Engineering Counselors, Ltd. ("FEC") to enhance the counseling of small and medium size government contractors and commercial companies with their working capital requirements. FEC assists management by arranging for financing, as well as working with the company’s management in compiling the required financial, accounting, and overview reports that lenders require. This has become crucial in today’s economic turmoil where more lenders are more likely to say "Thank you, but NO thank you!"

For the previous six years Richard was with Wells Fargo Bank, Government Services Group, where he assisted fast track companies and government contractors; 8a, woman, service disabled veteran, Native American, and other minority owned or disadvantaged companies that required financial support. In addition to working closely with a company's management, Richard has been a featured speaker on "Financing Alternatives" at GovWorks (Department of Interior), National Black Chamber of Commerce’s and National Contract Management Association’s annual conferences, Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce, FAA’s Las Vegas Contractors Convention, Native American Reservation Economic Summit (RES), as well as other organizations and events around the Country.

From the 1990 to 2003 Richard was a CFO/CEO counselor to start up, fast growth technology and service businesses needing assistance in financing alternatives; bank relations, strategic planning, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, accounting, and marketing. As CEO/CFO, l985-l990, he initiated a "business plan only" Initial Public Offering for Virtusonics Corporation, a software development company, some 10 years ahead of the "dot.com" trend of the l990’s. He began his career in banking with A.J. Armstrong & Co. (ne: Bank of America Business Credit) in 1974. He moved to The Chase Manhattan Bank as Vice President, Leveraged Acquisition Team, to start its leverage buyout group in 1980, then to General Electric Capital Corporation, as a marketing manager, to help start an ABL financing vertical in the Retailer Finance Division.

Richard earned his B.S. Degree in General Business and a MBA in Finance and International Business from New York University, Stern School of Business, where he was a scholarship student. He lives and works in suburban Washington, D.C. where he is active in golf, bicycling, minority business support, community activities, and governmental issues.

William L. Blumberg, Federal Contract Solutions, DFAS Ombudsman (Ret.) – Contract Management and Payment

Mr. Blumberg is principal of the consulting firm Federal Contract Solutions, which specializes in helping Federal government contractors resolve payment problems and related contract administration issues. After an extensive Federal career he was a vice president of LESCO, a logistics contractor, leading their Washington D.C. office. Prior to joining LESCO he had almost 31 years of Federal service. His last government position was at the Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS) Headquarters Contract Pay Directorate staff. Areas of activity included Prompt Pay compliance, re-engineering of the Defense Commissary Agency payment procedures, mandatory Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) implementation and related items such as Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and 1099 MISC reporting compliance. He served as the DOD ombudsman for contractors with payment problems. Mr. Blumberg was also a member of the interagency Federal Contractor Tax Compliance Taskforce and the Contract Finance Committee, which writes the contract payment sections of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). He came to DFAS in April 1991 after serving on the Corporate Information Management (CIM) study. His CIM participation involved developing a complete inventory and assessment of DOD accounting systems and their related functionality and interfaces. Prior to the CIM he was on the Office of Secretary of Defense Comptroller staff for 13 years. There he also worked on Prompt Pay issues, as well as cash management and program oversight of the overseas contract banking program. He started government service with the Navy Accounting & Finance Center. He is a graduate of the George Washington University.

Tom Johnson, Publisher, Set Aside Alert

Set Aside Alert is the premier federal government contract information service, focused on small businesses, minority-owned and women-owned businesses, veteran- and SDV-owned businesses, SBA 8(a)-certified companies and HUBzone businesses. Since 1992, our market intelligence service includes daily e-mail notices of all small business contracting opportunities and biweekly newsletters providing the latest news, insider tips and proven strategies used by successful small businesses