ALREADY ONLINE, INC RECEIVES VETERAN INSTITUTE FOR PROCUREMENT CERTIFICATION

Decatur, IL June 1^st 2012 Already Online, Inc.  Recently completed the Veteran Institute Procurement (VIP), a comprehensive training and certification program that helps veteran-owned businesses strengthen their ability to win government contracts and do business with both military and civilian agencies they once served in uniform. 

On October 20, 2011, Already Online, Inc was one of 45 businesses from 17 states to graduate from the National Center for the Veteran Institute for Procurement at the Bolger Center, a government-owned conference facility located in Potomac, Md. During the program’s graduation, Already Online, Inc was presented with a congressional citation on behalf of Mike Jackson. 

“Having the ability to set down face to face with key buyers from large prime vendors such as L-3 Communications, SAIC and Lockheed-Martin gave our business a better insight on how to do business with these types of companies.  It also showed us the benefit we provide them with our ability to react quickly to changing requirements; as well as helping them meet their congressional set-aside goals for small business.”

VIP was established by the Montgomery County Chamber Community Foundation (MCCCF) in 2009. After two years of successfully serving veteran-owned business leaders in the Washington Metropolitan Area, VIP organizers responded to interest from veterans around the country and broadened to a national program in 2011.

"VIP provides veteran-owned business leaders who are looking to position themselves for greater success in the fast-growing marketplace of government contracting," said Barbara Ashe, president, Montgomery County Chamber Community Foundation.  “By helping entrepreneur-minded veterans succeed as government contractors, we are not only supporting those men and women who have served our nation, but also the veterans they hire, the citizens they serve, the government agencies and prime contractors they support, and the overall economy,”

VIP is a three-day, 27-hour comprehensive certification program instructed by professional service experts who present best business practices as volunteers.  The curriculum focuses on topics tailored to the federal contracting space: strategic planning; legal, contracting and teaming agreements; accounting and financial compliance; marketing, capture, and proposals; risk management, operations and quality assurance; and insurance and human resources.  Participants must be a C-level leader in a Veteran-owned business operating for at least two years with minimum of 3 full time employees, annual revenues less than $25 million, and experience working on government contracts as a prime and/or sub-contractor to a prime. The program is funded by the Montgomery County Chamber Community Foundation (MCCCF) through private sponsorships and is offered at no cost to taxpayers or the participants (except transportation).