Released by Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake Public Affairs Office --

The Navy Gold Coast Small Business Opportunity Conference will be held in San Diego, Calif. on Sept. 8, 2005 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in Mission Valley from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The early registration fee is $75 through August 22, when it goes up to $95. Continental breakfast, morning speaker sessions, luncheon, afternoon breakout sessions and a poolside reception are all included in the price. Industry sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available. For information and to register, go to http://2005goldcoast.ndia-sd.org/.

Navy Gold Coast will expose small firms in the three-state area to business opportunities with the government and large prime contractors. Both emerging businesses and experienced large companies will learn about trends, issues and other topics affecting the government contracting industry.

Last year’s Navy Gold Coast Conference drew more than 1,400 attendees. Now, the scope of this event has been expanded. Navy commands and defense contractors in the Southwest region (California, Arizona and Nevada) will attend and the conference is open to the public.

“The 2005 Gold Coast Conference consists of a few new features different from previous years. First, this event has always been in the Ventura County area, but this year Gold Coast will be hosted in San Diego. In addition to the change of venue, the 2005 Gold Coast offers various industry sponsorship and exhibit opportunities”, said Thao Smith of WFI Government Services, Inc. and Event Chair.

The Navy’s co-sponsor host is Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, which established a partnership with the San Diego Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association. The other Navy co-sponsors are Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command and Naval Air Systems Command. The San Diego Business Journal is also an important contributor to this event.