FY16 Small Business Administrator's Cup Award

Earlier this week, Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot and I traveled to Stennis Space Center, (SSC) located near Bay Saint Louis Mississippi to present the FY16 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup Award. This award has been presented to the NASA center that has the best overall agency small business program yearly since 2008. SSC also received this prestige award previously in 2011.

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot (l) and Associate Administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs Glenn Delgado (r) present the 2016 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup for small business excellence to Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech during a site visit May 17. Credits: NASA/SSC

In FY2016, Stennis’s team strongly supported the agency’s effort to promote and better integrate all small businesses into the competitive base of NASA contractors, leading to its most successful overall year on record with regard to the percentage of small business awards. Stennis increased in all small business subcategories and went from meeting two small business goals in FY15 to all five in FY16, making it one of only two NASA centers to meet all federally mandated small business goals.

I’d like to recognize Mr. Robert Watts, who, while acting as the Stennis small business specialist, earned the FY16 Small Business Specialist of the Year Award. SSC is only the second center to have both the reigning Small Business Specialist of the Year as well as the Small Business Administrator’s Cup. This is in no small part due to the efforts of SSC Center Director Dr. Richard J. Gilbrech, Procurement Officer Mr. Robert Harris, and all the technical and acquisition personnel at SSC.  

Participants in the presentation of the 2016 NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup on May 17 included Stennis Office of Procurement Director Rob Harris (l) and former Stennis Small Business Specialist Robert Watts. Watts received the NASA Small Business Specialist of the Year award earlier this spring for his work at Stennis. He recently accepted a position at Johnson Space Center. Credits: NASA/SSC

Congratulations to all those at the Stennis Space Center who contributed to this well-deserved honor and for the outstanding achievements they accomplished during FY-16.   

NASA Celebrates National Small Business Week

NASA is excited to celebrate National Small Business Week April 30-May 6, 2017. This event recognizes the contributions that small business owners across the country make daily. At NASA, we are marking the event in a big way. It’s no surprise that we here in the Office of Small Business Programs fully support our small business partners and work hard to ensure the small businesses in our industrial base are competitive. Please take a moment to view Acting Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot’s video supporting National Small Business Week:

More information about our remarkable Small Business Advocate and Small Business Industry winners can be found at https://osbp.nasa.gov/award.html.

To amplify Mr. Lightfoot’s message, the NASA Office of Small Business Programs, in collaboration with the Technology Transfer Program and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, will be featuring the immeasurable impact small businesses have at NASA in a display in the West Lobby of NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC throughout the month of May.

If you’re in the area, I hope you will stop by and take a look at let us know what you think via our Twitter @NASA_OSBP or Facebook @NASASmallBusiness accounts.

I hope you will take time this week to join us in supporting your local small businesses!