Cherokee Nation to Host Certification Workshop for Small Business Owners
CLAREMORE, Okla. —The Cherokee Nation in partnership with Rogers State University in Claremore will host a workshop for small business owners and vendors on Thursday, April 1 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the campus of RSU in its Innovation Center, 1701 W. Will Rogers Blvd.
The tribe’s Small Business Assistance Center is sponsoring the workshop, which is intended to provide more information on how business owners can become certified through the Section 8(a) program and the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program.
The Section 8(a) Business Development Program, named for a section of the Small Business Act, is a business development program created to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy and access the federal procurement market. The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program stimulates economic development and creates jobs in urban and rural communities by providing Federal Contracting preferences to small businesses.
Vanessa Woodfork, business development specialist in the Oklahoma District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, will instruct the workshop. Topics will include an overview of both Section 8(a) and HUBZone, as well as the application steps and processes for each.
“The workshop will be highly informative to vendors,” said Veronica Hix, SBAC entrepreneur development manager, “I encourage small business owners to attend and take advantage of Vanessa’s knowledge and insight into the processes associated with becoming Hubzone and 8(a) certified.”
The workshop is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Valerie Scrapper at (918) 453-5536.