Small Business Office, Northern New Mexico supplier alliance Building the Bridge trade fair Oct. 10 in Española

Contact: Steve Sandoval, steves@lanl.gov, (505) 665-9206 (02-112)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Oct. 3, 2002 -- Up to 150 small businesses from throughout Northern New Mexico are scheduled to participate in the Building the Bridge 2002 Trade Fair Oct. 10 at Northern New Mexico Community College in Española.

The Small Business Program Office at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance and the city of Española are primary sponsors of the third annual trade fair. It is free and open to the public. A number of other agencies and businesses are contributing sponsors as well.

“The trade fair is the opportunity for businesses throughout the region to showcase their products and services to not only the Laboratory, but Sandia National Laboratories, state and local government procurement agencies and officials,” said Teresa Trujillo, Los Alamos' Small Business Program Office program manager. “The Laboratory, through its partnership with the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance, is committed to promoting small business and economic development in Northern New Mexico. This is a win-win opportunity for everyone who participates.”

J.R. Trujillo, chairman of the board of directors of the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance, said the trade fair has been months in the planning. Laboratory workers who purchase goods and services, especially technical Laboratory divisions, are encouraged to attend the trade fair. “We've been working closely to contact small business owners and sign them up for the trade fair. But we've also been talking to people at the Laboratory and other sectors of government who make purchases for their organization to stress the importance — and advantages — of buying locally, whenever possible,” said Trujillo.

The Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance is a 600-member not-for-profit organization whose membership includes businesses in a seven-county region around the Laboratory.

The evening before the trade fair, the Northern New Mexico Supplier Alliance, New Mexico Building Trades Council and the Laboratory are hosting a pre-trade fair gala to publicly recognize and thank sponsors of the event. And the second Allan F. Johnston Advocacy Award will be announced during the event in the Nick Salazar Performing Arts Center at Northern New Mexico Community College in Española.

The award is named after the late, longtime small business advocate and Los Alamos' former Business Operations Division leader. Johnston died last year.

Preregistrations for booths at the trade fair are still being taken at http://www.nnmsa.org/tradeshow.asp online. Click on “online exhibitor registration to register. Or call 505-747-9367 or Tim Martinez in Los Alamos' Small Business Program Office at 667-4410, or write to sbo@lanl.gov by electronic mail.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, developing technical solutions to reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.