Newsroom
By Houston Airport System
September 7, 2007
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In most cases John Sturtevant considers himself to be a teacher, but after attending the HAS Business Opportunity Networking Fair he quickly became the student.
“Obviously my primary reason to be here is to generate business for my company.” He adds, “What I found last year was I learned things I didn’t expect. How people do business with the city and with large contractors what the processes are. I met some people who basically educated me and that was an unexpected plus.”
On August 29th, HAS rolled out the red carpet to dozens of companies and businesses at the Humble Civic Center. The all day event allowed business owners to network with local companies and possibly walk away from the event with a contract at one of Houston’s airports.
It was the small business owner’s second time attending this event.
“I’ve been to some trade shows like this conference where everyone is sort of hawking their wares and if you’re not a customer they don’t feel like talking to you. It’s not that way here,” says Sturtevant. “People are eager to share their ideas and ask questions and learn from each other and I think that makes it unique.”
Sturtevant currently has contracts with the Houston Airport System, British Columbia Transmission Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Marathon Oil Company, and many more.
“These events are very beneficial to our airports and our business,” said HAS Director Rick Vacar. “We can tap into local talent, diversify our supply chain, reinvest in the local economy and provide new opportunities for neighboring emerging businesses.”
City Council Member Adrian Garcia was on hand at the fair to read the proclamation from the mayor.
“I have never met a small business whose intent it was to remain a small business.” He goes on to explain, “When you become a part of a dynamic system like the Houston Airport System; we are about growing, we are about being the best in the world. So the fact that people are interested to compete for entry into that system demonstrates to me that they are truly exemplifying the entrepreneur spirit.” |
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When asked about the comparison between last year and this year networking fair Council Member Garcia explains, “The fact that the enthusiasm is still here from a year ago demonstrates that there’s tremendous growth here locally. I feel that in this event to sustain the momentum from a year ago is phenomenal.”
Among the many contracts that are available with HAS include supply, purchasing, planning, architecture, electrical, construction, retail, food and beverage opportunities.
CRB Vending, a family owned business, has already scored a contract with the Houston Airport System but decided to return for the fair’s second year.
“We came to last year’s business fair and there are a lot of companies that we’ve interacted with,” says Brad Best, co-owner of the company. “There’s a lot of opportunity, and we wanted to come back and I guess see what other opportunities were available and keep expanding our business.”
CRB Vending’s Best, among other small and minority owned businesses are looking forward to next year’s networking fair.
“It’s a great opportunity to network and get your name out and see a lot of big corporations to interact with and hopefully expand our business.”
For more information about HAS business opportunities call (281) 233-7823, email at has.smallbusiness@cityofhouston.net or visit www.fly2houston.com
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