Group helps local companies win contracts with Air Force base

Commission members (as of Dec. 7)

Michael Bridges, president, Peerless Technologies

Arnold Fife, vice president, CACI

John Garland, president, Central State University

Deborah Gross, president and owner of D. Gross Consulting

Glen Hamilton, chair of emergency medicine, Wright State University

Nina Joshi, CEO, UES Inc.

Dave Judson, CEO, JJR Solutions

Gary Kowal, senior director, Sergo Inc.

Dan Kugel, vice president, Battelle

John Leland, director, University of Dayton Research Institute

Robert May, retired executive service member, Aeronautical Systems Center

Lt Col. John McCance, USAF retired

Deborah McDonnell, Fairborn city manager

Maj. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, USAF retired

Barry Myers, president, Sytronics

Maj. Gen. Everett Odgers, USAF retired

Becky Rogers, contracts manager at Sytronics

Col. Colleen Ryan, USAF retired

Brig. Gen. Homer Smith, USAF retired

Source: Office of U.S. Rep. Steve Austria

FAIRBORN — A “blue ribbon” commission on contracting work with Wright-Patterson Air Force won’t try to alter the federal contracting process, said U.S. Rep. Steven Austria, who convened the commission Monday, Dec. 7, at Wright State University.

Instead, the body will try to shed light on the contracting process, aiming to help local companies win more business with the base, the U.S. Air Force’s logistics hub and the largest single-site employer in Ohio.

“We can’t interfere with the contracting process,” said Austria, R-Beavercreek.

The roster of the 20- to 25-member commission hasn’t been finalized, Austria staff members said. But members will be expected to examine how the contracting process works, best contracting practices and impediments to local companies trying to win more business with the base. It will be done in an bid to produce by May 2010 a series of recommendations to how local companies and universities can secure a firmer foothold in local base contracting, the congressman and others said.

“It should be a win-win for everyone,” said Homer Smith, a commission member, retired Air Force brigadier general and chief executive of Avetec.

The recommendations may prove useful also for entrepreneurs already in the contracting arena who want to strengthen proposals they write, said Deborah Gross, another commission member and president and owner of D. Gross Consulting.

Asked if he has heard from business leaders and constituents about winning base contracts, Austria, a first-term congressman, said it’s an issue he has worked on since he served in the Ohio General Assembly.

Austria said the commission would select a chairperson in the next week. He expected another meeting in January.