Month: May 2021

090: Mike Melo – Serving people in the arena and highlighting values of leadership, integrity and hard work

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Mike Melo president and CEO of ITA International started his company with his wife. Interestingly, it was Melo’s father who inspired the name of his company, ITA. It is derived from a passage in a 1910 speech by Teddy Roosevelt referred to as “The Man in the Arena” in which Roosevelt praises those who work hard and demonstrate values of leadership, integrity, and hard work rather than simply sitting on the sidelines.

ITA International LLC works toward a secure, stable and sustainable world. Their mission is to improve the lives of all people, especially their customers. They operate in over 20 locations worldwide.

Founded in 2005, Mike and his wife’s company is a provider of integrated service in the areas of Operational Support, Marine Engineering, Cyber Operations and Data Analytics for those serving “In The Arena” in support of the US Government, Commercial Customers and Non-Government Organizations operating globally.

In today’s episode, we discussed how Mike’s view on federal contracting shifted since first starting out, we discussed his recent acquisition and the methodology used to determine the good versus bad purchase in the business, the future of ITA and where the company is headed. We also dived into the beginning phases of growth, cash flow and contacts.

Missouri Department of Social Services awarded $190.2M contract for full food services at Fort Leonard Wood

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Missouri Department of Social Services, Jefferson City, Missouri, was awarded a $190,206,883 firm-fixed-price contract for full food services at Fort Leonard Wood. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 30, 2026. U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-21-D-0002).

The Missouri Department of Social Services is responsible for coordinating programs to provide:

While many programs give needed financial assistance and services, other units work toward reducing the financial dependency of the citizens on government assistance.

The Department of Social Services also has teams dedicated to:

The Department of Social Services is administrated by a director who is appointed by the Governor and approved by the state Senate. This department director, in turn, appoints the division directors.

There are over 6,700 budgeted employees in the department, and the Human Resource Center (HRC) guides the overall human resources management system for DSS team members. (https://dss.mo.gov/ddo/)

SOURCES SOUGHT: Exhibit Design Services for the National Mounted Warrior Museum

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The Government intends to issue the RFP in the next 30 days with receipt of proposals due 30 calendar days after issuance of RFP. The solicitation, amendments, and other miscellaneous documentation will be posted to the beta sam website at https://beta.sam.gov. It is the responsibility of each Offeror to review the website for notices of amendments, amendments, and changes of information. Hard copies of documents will not be made available.

Contact with Government personnel outside of ACC-DTA, by a potential Offeror regarding this acquisition is strictly prohibited. In order to be eligible for the award, registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) database is required. To register, go to http://www.sam.gov.

  • Original Set Aside: Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)
  • Product Service Code: E1JA – PURCHASE OF MUSEUMS AND EXHIBITION BUILDINGS
  • NAICS Code: 712110 – Museums
  • Place of Performance: Fort Hood, TX 76544 USA
  • Updated Response Date: May 17, 2021
  • Full details via beta.sam.gov

    govcon giants logo Check out our RESOURCES page for a sample letter that we use in response to government market research.

089: Roberta Moore – How pure determination and a chance event lead to a whirlwind of character building experience

Posted on by Eric Coffie

Roberta Moore founded AMOORER, Incorporated 19 years ago in 2002 as a recently divorced, single parent of three boys. Amoorer Incorporated is an 8(a) graduate, HUBZone Certified, Woman-Owned Healthcare staffing small business. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Strayer University and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Maryland University College.

Roberta began her career as a DoD civil servant for 10 years before opening her business, Amoorer Inc in 2002 and embarking on her government contracting journey. A journey that would take her through many whirlwind experiences, some adventure and many character building.

In this episode we discuss how a chance event led to her successfully winning her first contract which was OCONUS and met her 2nd mentor. A woman who gave Ms. Moore a back office which then allowed her business to really take off and begin to thrive.

Ms. Moore has a reputation as a creative problem solver and effective manager capable of making a significant contribution to the corporate bottom-line. Ms. Moore Is a 2019 graduate of the Veterans Affairs Vetbizladies genesis cohort. In 2016 she graduated from the United States Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Emerging Leaders, accelerated streetwise MBAprogram.

She has in-depth skills in the development of operational and strategic business planning as well as operations and marketing experience relating to all aspects of business development. Ms. Moore won several multi-million dollar healthcare staffing contracts with the federal government and private industry. She is responsible for setting revenue targets and managing P&L for divisions. She has extensive management experience in developing and defending budgets in support of government programs.

Ms. Moore has detailed experience in financial and business planning and developing policies and procedures appropriate for management of government and private industry programs. Ms. Moore’s philosophy is “Commitment, Integrity, Personalized Service and Value for your money.

SOURCES SOUGHT: Power Africa Healthcare Facility Electrification Activity (HFE)

Posted on by Eric Coffie

USAID/Power Africa is exploring opportunities to invest and attract private capital investment in health facility electrification to support short- and long-term response efforts in collaboration with private sector partners. This Alliance can include companies, non-governmental organizations, foundations, governments, and other relevant parties committed to promoting health facility modernization (electricity, telecommunications, and water) across SSA.

The Alliance would be created to build on existing Power Africa and USAID health programming efforts to enhance private sector participation in health facility electrification in the SSA region through sustainable, clean generation measures. Our goal is to help improve health services and COVID-19 vaccine distribution by providing reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity. To achieve long-term success, the Alliance may seek sustainable ways to finance and electrify health facilities on a large scale to be replicated and scaled upon throughout the years of implementation. Innovative solutions to governance, financing and delivery challenges are welcome to solve this development challenge. More information on USAID Alliance Building can be found at: https://www.usaid.gov/gda

  • Original Set Aside:
  • Product Service Code:
  • NAICS Code: 541611 – Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
  • Place of Performance: USA
  • Updated Response Date: May 17, 2021 05:00 pm EDT
  • Full details via beta.sam.gov

    govcon logo Check out our RESOURCES page for a sample letter that we use in response to government market research.

Leilani Lacusong: From Accountant to 8a Contractor

Posted on by Eric Coffie

For over five years, Leilani Lacusong learned doing government contracts and now, she shares her story and what she learned from winning her first contract!

 BACKGROUND

Leilani Lacusong has over 25 years of experience doing accounting in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry as a project and staff accountant all the way to becoming a Chief Financial Officer. 

Currently, she is the Principal at Leis Consulting Group where she does government contracts for over five years while also providing accounting services, on the side. 

Apart from that, Leilani is also working along with some of our GovCon Giants to gain contracts as a community. 

STARTING IN THE FEDERAL MARKETPLACE

When she quit her former job, Leilani was faced with the fact that she had no clients and no job. However, she believed in herself and started researching. 

She built Leis Consulting Group in 2015 and she went after 8a and other certifications.

She called people for three months regarding these small business certifications and instead of paying someone to fill the 8a application, she did it herself. 

Although, she was informed that she can’t be an 8a, she continued to pursue this certification until she became 8a certified in 2016.

However, reality hits her. Becoming part of the 8a program doesn’t mean having those VIP tickets that will provide you contracts. 

So, she reverted back to doing accounting while researching more and navigating different  govcon databases.

That’s when she learned about homeless veterans, traditional homes for the probationers, and other opportunities that she already had previous experiences with. 

GETTING HER FIRST CONTRACT

Leilani then got her first contract on September 23, 2017 where she did a carpet cleaning project in Abilene, Texas for three years.

“I thought I won a million dollars, but it’s only 65,000 for five years, so I  didn’t really look at it that way. I think it just affects the high of winning a contract. It didn’t matter if it was like twenty thousand, thirty thousand—”

Although this contract gave her a lot of challenges, it also strengthened the way she viewed government contracts. 

Primarily, the people that she hired to do the project didn’t show up, so she just did the job herself. Fortunately, a pastor assisted her in accomplishing the job for three years. 

Apart from that, the contract itself is $65,000 for three years which is a very small contract considering its time period. 

However, she still performed the project and viewed it as a very humbling experience.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, the government really trusted me, so, I have to perform, you know, like they trusted me and my company.’ So, you know what? I have to deliver what I need to deliver and maybe do more.”

SACRIFICES AND DRIVE

Between 2017 to 2019, Leilani continues to bid with no hits. This then affects her tremendously.

She began sabotaging her relationships and there comes a point where she needs to do accounting on the side just to pay her bills.

However, she knew that these sacrifices were needed to achieve her goals, so she never gave up. 

“I just did not give up, you know. I don’t know what kept me going. I think it’s because of that hunger… for trying to get the contracts. I’m like, ‘That’s all I want to do. I just want to work hard with contracts.’”

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING GOVCON GIANTS

1. Be patient.

Patience is very important when you’re doing every activity in order to win a contract. It will not happen as soon as you want it. You need to wait. You need to think. You need to continuously reinvent yourself. 

“You have to be patient. It’s not going to come overnight.”

2. Be humble.

Stay grounded wherever part of your govcon journey you are because no matter how huge your contracts are, you have to go right back to where you started again after accomplishing that.

In fact, why not share what you learned? Besides, there are tons of contracts and money for all of us in this marketplace, we have enough projects to pass around.

“You have to share… I think humility and being humble, I think it’s the key to, you know, so people really want to work with you.”

3. Be consistent.

Success won’t happen when you don’t do your activities consistently. You need to have a system. You need to have structure. You need to know what you are doing. 

“My advice to people is how to eat live and walk and really digest the government world because if you don’t, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle, you’re going to be frustrated, and you’re not going to know your next move. So, I said just be consistent.”

4. Be part of a community.

When you’re doing contracts alone, it will surely become lonely, but it will not be that lonely if you become part of a community who also have the same aspirations as yourself. 

“One thing I really, really learned is you have to have a community. You have to have a village. It’s kind of like having kids, you have to have a support system because there are things that you’re missing out.” 

RESOURCES

If you want to learn more on the sacrifices and lessons Leilani Lacusong learned, then be sure to click the resources below. You can also visit the GovCon Giant website or the new GovCon Edu where you learn everything about government contracting!

02: Making a Giant with Maria and Leilani Lacusong. From Accountant to 8a Contractor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmJi3lamQUw&t=2606s

General Dynamics Mission Systems awarded $400M contract for production of spare parts in support of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment system

Posted on by Eric Coffie

General Dynamics Mission Systems, Taunton, Massachusetts, has been awarded a maximum of $400,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, prospective-price-redetermination contract for production of spare parts in support of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Increment system. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulations 6.302-1. This is a five-year base contract with one five-year option period. The location of performance is Massachusetts, with April 29, 2025, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. The type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (SPRBL1-20-D-0043).

General Dynamics Mission System Inc was founded in 2015. The company’s line of business includes repairing radios and televisions. (www.bloomberg.com)

SOURCES SOUGHT: Content Management Systems (CMS) Software

Posted on by Eric Coffie

The U.S. Army Contracting Command – New Jersey, on behalf of U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command – Armaments Center (CCDC AC), Life Cycle Supportability Division (LCSD) at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, is conducting market research to determine the capability of businesses to provide a content management system (CMS), a software application and a set of related programs, to create and manage digital content. The required CMS shall be used for authoring, reviewing, collaborating, storing, electronically publishing, and overall enterprise content management (ECM) of LCSD documentation. This documentation is developed in XML compliant to MIL-STD-40051 and binary/proprietary (e.g. FrameMaker, Word, etc.) formats and is updated and edited regularly after initial publication. The commercial CMS shall integrate the Army XMetaL application (configure the data ingest for Army custom eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) and Document Type Definitions (DTDs)).

  • Original Set Aside:
  • Product Service Code: 7A21 – IT AND TELECOM – BUSINESS APPLICATION SOFTWARE (PERPETUAL LICENSE SOFTWARE)
  • NAICS Code: 511210 – Software Publishers
  • Place of Performance: Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806 USA
  • Updated Response Date: May 14, 2021 12:00 pm EDT
  • Full details via beta.sam.gov

    govcon logo

    Check out our RESOURCES page for a sample letter that we use in response to government market research.