Hafa Adai!

Welcome to the Town Hall Meeting on Small Business and Government Contracting. Today's meeting is the first of what will be an informative series of meetings that I plan to sponsor in the months ahead. Today's meeting will provide information on the training, the expertise, the technical assistance, and other resources available on Guam to help your business succeed in the federal market place.

The planned increase in federal government investment on Guam is a topic that is on all of our minds. This is the case for a variety of reasons.

Along with the many opportunities that are within our reach today, come certain challenges for our community to overcome - and changes to our island to which we will all have to adjust.

These challenges and these changes are of concern to some. I understand these concerns. I am committed to ensuring that these concerns are addressed to the fullest extent possible.

Challenge and change are constants in life. They are uncomfortable forces because they cause uncertainty. Uncertainty, of course, can lead to doubt. And so on…. 

We have all experienced the sense of hesitation that results from uncertainty and doubt. But, we have also all experienced how overcoming uncertainty, how succeeding in overcoming a challenge met head -on, and how adjusting to change can grow and enrich our lives and businesses.

This is how I view the challenge and change associated with this exciting period in Guam's history.

I believe that together, working as a team, we can do this. Together, with good communication and coordination between all stakeholders, we will do this. And together, as an island, I am confident that we will do it well.

I see a bright future for Guam. The increased investment and military presence on our island will contribute to this bright future. We must keep our minds open to the many, many opportunities that are within our reach today. This planned investment could result a reversal of the economic hardship that our island experienced recently.

The planned increase in federal investment on Guam promises to create more jobs for our island's workforce, raise more tax revenue for GovGuam, and provide more security for our country and for our island.

Best of all, this planned increase in federal investment on Guam will provide more business for Guam's firms! More business will be good for your bottom line, I am sure.

But while a stronger bottom line is certainly important, I also want to encourage everyone to think beyond profits. I encourage you to think in a bigger picture - to think of the role you as business owners and operators have toward improving Guam and strengthening our unique community.

Your hard work with executing these contracts will improve our island's infrastructure. Your work will help improve our economy. Your work will help improve GovGuam. And, most importantly, your work will help ensure greater economic opportunity on island for future generations.

You, as a group, have a vital role in making this happen. You have a vital role in making Guam a better place to live, a better place to raise a family, and a better place to work hard and do good business.

These are weighty responsibilities. But they are ones that I know you will want to fulfill. And you have my commitment to support you in every way possible.

These contracts, however, will not just fall into your laps. There already is a lot of interest from off-island firms for bidding on this work. There may be opportunities for your business to partner with off-island firms for certain jobs. I encourage you to keep an open mind to this, and ready your business for such opportunities. However, I also encourage you to ready your business for competition against strong and able firms for this work. You can be assured that the competition will be tough.

This is why you need to begin to prepare now for success. I want to emphasize that your preparation today will contribute to your success tomorrow.

An essential part of this preparation will be learning the basics of how to do business with the federal government. This is the purpose of this town hall meeting.

Today you will hear from the Guam Chamber of Commerce. They will describe for you how the Chamber is organized and working to help you succeed. The Chamber is a strong advocate for small business. I encourage you all to find out more about how the Chamber can assist you.

You will also receive a briefing from the U.S. Small Business Administration - the SBA - on how to apply for certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) company. The HUBZone program is a program that allows for some federal contracts to be awarded on a preferential or 'set-aside' basis to participating firms located in areas designated as historically underutilized. The SBA will describe in more detail how this program works and why you should get involved with it. Your certification as a HUBZone business will be an important tool when competing for contracts, as all of Guam has been designated a HUBZone.

Furthermore, you will receive a briefing from the U.S. General Services Administration - the GSA - about the services offered by its Office of Small Business Utilization and how federal government purchasing is done. The assistance available through the GSA can help you become successful in the federal marketplace.

Lastly, you will hear from the Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network - Guam's SBDC. You will learn of the wide range of technical services, expert counseling, and facilities available to you through the SBDC. I encourage you and your business to become a SBDC client.

By coming here today - to learn about the training, the expertise, the technical assistance, and other resources available on Guam to help your business succeed in the federal market place - you have already taken the first step toward making your business better prepared to compete for contracts to support the planned increased military presence on Guam.

By coming here today you have also taken the first steps toward overcoming the challenges and adjusting to the changes that lie in store for Guam in the years ahead.

Finally, by coming here you have taken the first steps toward making your business stronger, toward making Guam stronger, and toward creating a brighter future for Guam and greater economic opportunity for our children. 

This is momentum that you have created, and momentum that I know you will sustain.

Thank you.