Vendors from central Kentucky and across the country attended a Nov. 16 forum in Richmond hosted by Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass (BPBG).

“We are focused on two things here,” said Arch McAlister, small business advocate, BPBG. “First, we want to keep as much business local as possible. So far we have spent more than $100 million in Madison and surrounding counties. And second, we’re not satisfied with just meeting the small-business goal set within our contract. We want to exceed it by as much as possible.”

BPBG holds this forum each year to raise awareness of the Blue Grass project among local and national vendors. Representatives provide project information and assist vendors in the process of becoming an approved supplier of materials and/or services.

The vendor forum is a way to do just that, said McAlister. He said he thinks the networking achieved at the forum is of great importance, as vendors and BPBG both can now put names with faces and know with whom they are doing business.

The event also provides opportunities for those who are not familiar of doing work within a government-contract framework.

“I came to the vendor forum to learn more about doing business with the government and the steps to becoming a successful bidder,” said Rod McClure, vice president of sales, Scott-Gross Company, Inc. “We’re looking forward to being able to do business with Bechtel Parsons Blue Grass.