Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast is hosting an Industry Engagement Day event, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. April 16 at the University of North Florida Adam W. Herbert University Center in Jacksonville, Florida.

The event will provide NAVFAC Southeast an opportunity to promote their products and services delivery through enhanced engagement with industry partners, large and small.

“NAVFAC leadership is dedicated to our industry partners and this event is the first step in continuing future engagements,” said Cory Iselin, NAVFAC Southeast assistant deputy director of small business.

The goal of the event is to provide contractors with valuable information pertaining to future NAVFAC workload projections and to help foster contractor to contractor working relationships through networking sessions.

“The schedule was developed after reviewing and participating in many other industry forums and conferences,” said NAVFAC Southeast Business Director Jeff Killian. “We also gathered input from our contract partners, and from those that are directly engaged in specific areas of products and services acquisitions in NAVFAC.”

The event will allow contractors to gain a better understanding of NAVFAC Southeast as an organization and the products and services they provide to the Navy. In turn, NAVFAC Southeast will be able to build strong relationships with industry professionals that will allow them more opportunities to support the Navy and the Warfighter.

“We want the attendees to feel that it will be well worth their time and expense to attend our event,” said Killian. “Our hope is that industry professionals will learn something new about the Navy and our command, and also get answers to any questions they may have.”

Small businesses play a vital role in the American economy - employing half of the country's workforce, creating nearly two out of every three new American jobs, and often being the source of the next great American innovation. NAVFAC Southeast strives to meet its goals and build on its successes by providing contract opportunities to these businesses.

“NAVFAC Southeast invests in small businesses to support our national defense,” said Iselin. “Small businesses fuel the American dream, which grows the local and federal economies that ultimately strengthen the warfighter.”

Small businesses provide construction, professional and supported services expertise that support the Navy’s mission. It is through strong policy and sound business processes that NAVFAC is able to develop capability based strategies that consider program risks, cost, schedule and technical requirements that help meet the expectations of supported commanders while supporting public policy objectives.

Each year NAVFAC establishes target goals for Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB), Historically Underutilized Business Zone Small Business (HUBZONE), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business categories. Utilizing these small business concerns to the maximum extent practicable is a matter of National interest with both social and economic benefits.

To learn more about the NAVFAC Southeast Industry Engagement Day event, contact Cory Iselin at cory.iselin@navy.mil or call him at 904-542-6624. Registration deadline is April 11.

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