BATON ROUGE, La. – Businesses, trade associations and chambers of commerce learned about securing government contracts during a free workshop this week.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center (LA BEOC), FEMA and other state agencies spoke about how to increase local, state and federal contract opportunities.                                                                                                                    

“We were excited about this opportunity to teach Louisiana business and industry leaders how they can help meet the needs of local governments, the state and the federal government,” GOHSEP Director James Waskom said.

Attendees also learned tips how to enhance disaster resiliency so they can better assist recovery and response with their products and services.  

The LA BEOC is dedicated to improving the ability of Louisiana businesses and non-profits to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural and human-caused disasters, and to maintain the stability, resilience and economic recovery of their communities. It is also the conduit between those who need resources with Louisiana resource providers during response and recovery from an emergency or disaster event.

“Businesses and the private sector are critical parts in emergency management,” LA BEOC Director of Operations Clay Rives said. “We’re fortunate there’s a strong interest among Louisiana’s private sector wanting to assist in disaster recovery.” 

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.

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