The conference is designed specifically for firms and employers relocating from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to the Aberdeen Proving Ground area in Maryland, as well as small businesses seeking opportunities to serve these firms and the billions of dollars in developing government contracts.

It is just one of a series of statewide initiatives to position Delaware businesses and inform citizens about the regional opportunities developing now and beyond 2011, when the technical functions from Fort Monmouth to the Aberdeen Proving Ground are due to be completed.

Gov. Jack Markell will open the daylong conference. Additional speakers and presenters include top leaders from the U.S. Army Headquarters Small Business Program Office, the Mid-Atlantic Regional SpacePort, University of Delaware Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships, and business development representatives from some of the region’s largest defense contractors.

The keynote luncheon speaker is Director Anthony Bell, chief of small business programs at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is receiving the overwhelming majority of the base realignment and closure budget.

The conference will also feature breakout sessions to prepare Delaware businesses with the critical information they need to position themselves as government contractors, including how to acquire facility security clearances; how to prepare to do work for the government; the small business opportunities evolving at Aberdeen from the Army Material Command, Army Corps of Engineers their subordinate commands; and the evolving regional opportunities at National Aeronautics and Space Administration Wallops Island at Chincoteague, Va; and more.

For more information about the conference, including sponsorship opportunities, session topics, speakers and registration, visit dedo.delaware.gov/brac or call 302-672-6857.