The regional meeting in Jackson Hole WY with the Far West Region and the Mid-Continent Region September, 2002 received such positive feedback that I am planning the same format for August 18-22, 2003. The meeting will combine the Far West and Mid-Continent Regions and be held in Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu in conjunction with the Hawaii technology transfer group consisting of small businesses, the University of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Federal Laboratories. Mark your calendars.

Kurt Buehler, FLC FW Regional Coordinator receives an award from Susan Sprake, Mid-Continent Regional Coordinator, for “Outstanding Support and Sacrifice to the Endeavors of the FLC.” This award was presented at the Jackson Hole meeting.

We started off fiscal year 2003 by selecting a new Far West Support Contractor. Zyn Systems of Sequim, Washington is our new contractor and will be supporting our regional efforts. Rick Shindell, Zyn Systems president, will be our main point of contact and in charge of fulfilling all Far West support requirements. Many of you know Rick from his many years at DelaBarre & Associates. Zyn Systems has been involved in support of FLC electronic communications and electronic outreach since 1991.

I want to take this opportunity to thank our previous contractor, Del DelaBarre and DelaBarre & Associates for the many years of quality support they gave us and the national FLC. DelaBarre is concentrating on some new ventures, and consequently decided not to compete for the new support contract. We wish them well in their new endeavors.

Our first function of the new fiscal year was our exhibit at the National SBIR Conference in Burlington, VT, October 28-31, 2002. Over 700 people were in attendance from all parts of the country. The majority of attendees were from the small business sector, but there was also participation from universities and large industry such as Boeing. We distributed many of our regional CD business cards, as well as other laboratory printed materials. We also handed out FLC national literature and lists of the regional points of contact. The conference was heralded by many as one of the best ever SBIR conferences. We expect to make a similar effort next March when the conference is held in Albuquerque, NM, March 11-14, 2003. I welcome your suggestions and participation.

Kurt Buehler
Email: buehlerkd@nfesc.navy.mil
Web Page: www.nfesc.navy.mil/