Savannah River Nuclear Solutions was recently presented with three awards at the Department of Energy’s 17th Annual Small Business Forum & Expo.  In FY17, SRNS allocated $36M to new small businesses, with $10M of that money going to local small businesses.

SRNS Procurement Director Jay Johnson received the Facility Management Contractor Procurement Director of the Year Award for his commitment to maximizing small business utilization through policies, procedures, outreach and creating an atmosphere with a “small business first” mindset throughout the organization.

“One of our strategic goals in Procurement is to be active and progressive advocates for small businesses. We’ve exceeded our goals the past two years and are on track to exceed them again this year. These awards give us some kind of indication that we’re heading in the right direction,” said Johnson.

Alex Agyemang, SRNS Procurement Manager of Small Business Programs and Supplier Partnering, received the FMC Small Business Program Manager of the Year award for nearly doubling outreach efforts with small businesses. This was accomplished through various efforts including the creation of roundtable talks for buyers to receive answers to questions about small business and the establishment of the first ever Small Business Champion Awards luncheon to recognize buyers for supporting small businesses. SCM also partnered with several minority development advocacy organizations to assist in finding qualified and diverse sources for buyers.

“By allowing companies the opportunity to interact directly with SRS officials, they can obtain ideas on how to get involved with the site, and we are able to find the right partners in execution of the site’s missions,” said Agyemang.

SRNS supplier, KAMO, a family-owned business providing sustainable janitorial supplies on site, received the Small Business of the Year award for being good stewards of tax payer dollars and for their contributions toward the continuous improvement of SRS. “Not only are they a long-time supporter of SRS, but rather than turning a higher profit, they have exhibited a selfless approach to business by informing us of how to save over $1M and how we can create less waste. KAMO exemplifies the qualities we are looking for in all our suppliers. We don’t want just a supplier, we want someone who will partner with us,” said Johnson.

The purpose of the Small Business Forum & Expo is to help small business program managers remain up-to-date on legislation, programming rules and conduct a trade fair for small businesses interested in working with DOE-Savannah River. These awards acknowledge the success of those who have contributed to improving collaboration with small businesses.