Companies within the Tennessee Valley Corridor interested in learning more about collaborating with regional federal facilities can get tips from key contracting directors at a "Contracting with the Tennessee Valley Corridor's Federal Installations" workshop during the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in Huntsville, Alabama.

This three-hour workshop on Tuesday, May 27 will be held at the Huntsville Marriott in the Discovery Room from 3 to 6 p.m.   The workshop is free to all interested businesses as long as they register in advance at www.tennvalleycorridor.org.

The workshop will focus on what companies of all sizes need to secure contracts with federal installations in the Tennessee Valley such as: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center; the U.S. Army's Space & Missile Defense Command; the U.S. Army's Aviation Materiel Command; and the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Materiel Laboratory and Y-12 Defense plant.

"No other region in the country is fortunate enough to have these important technological assets," said Congressman Bud Cramer from Huntsville, who is hosting the upcoming Summit. Companies that attend this important workshop will not only be exposed to the Tennessee Valley's tremendous resources, but will be exposed to the many business opportunities available for their companies.

Featured workshop speakers will include: Steve Beale, director of the procurement office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center; Rick Stewart, contracting officer at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center; Mark Lumer, contracting executive, the U.S. Army's Space & Missile Defense Command; Charles Crowe, director of procurements & contracts, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Operations; and Marlene Cruze, executive director, Acquisition Center, the U.S. Army's Aviation & Materiel Command

"This workshop is yet another way we expand new business opportunities and federal missions in areas where we already excel in serving our region and nation while meeting the challenges of the future," said Congressman Zach Wamp from Chattanooga, Tenn. who has led the Summit series since its origination in 1995.

The workshop is a preliminary event to the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit which will convene in Huntsville, Alabama at the Von Braun Center, May 27-29. Please visit www.tennvalleycorridor.org for more information and to register for the Summit. Interested participants can register for the entire three-day event at $125, or choose to attend single events that are each priced separately.

The Tennessee Valley Corridor Summits have become the vehicle for monitoring the Corridor's initiatives and identifying priorities and opportunities for economic development in the Tennessee Valley under the leadership of the Valley's congressional delegation, the Corridor Summit Board, and regionally based Summit coordinating committees. The 2000 Summit was held in North Alabama.  Previous Summits have also met in Washington, D.C., Oak Ridge, Chattanooga, Tri-Cities TN/VA, Nashville, Knoxville, and Tullahoma, Tenn.