(Left to right) Sherlynn Kennedy, Brigette Viehe, Mike Viehe, Boyd Miller, and Billy Hamilton check out the easily recognized logo on a Servpro vehicle. Hamilton and Kennedy with Business Development, and Miller with Preferred Supplier Program, had just met with Mr. and Mrs. Viehe about their business.
Preferred Supplier Program continues to promote Choctaw Business
By Brandon Frye
Choctaw Nation
Durant, Okla. - The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) Preferred Supplier Program (PSP) continues to serve the Choctaw people by bringing Native-owned businesses into contact with more and better commercial opportunities.
The goal of the PSP is to direct the business and trade of the Nation and other organizations to established Native and minority businesses. It is an effort to support local buying and growth development, expansion, and increased use of business enterprises owned by Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma tribal members, other Native Americans, and other federally recognized minorities.
“We strive to continually develop and provide the most beneficial programs to our Choctaw-owned business members while seeking best value and performance for purchases by the Choctaw Nation through our supplier program,” Miller said. “We promote accountability to our members, sustainability, growth, diversity, and the creation of jobs throughout the Choctaw Nation.”
For Choctaw business owners, making use of the PSP means gaining a preferred supplier status, and being certified in this way comes with a number of perks.
When a job needs to be done, when a service needs to be performed, when a product needs to be sold, PSP puts Choctaw businesses to use. Miller and the PSP maintain a registry of qualified businesses for this very purpose, so tribal businesses can be shared and made available when work needs to be done.
A complete online directory will be available to not only organizations looking to pay for work, but also the public looking for services and products at an individual level.
The program also gathers a directory of qualified businesses or vendors and gives them equal opportunity to submit bids for big jobs like construction, an opportunity which might not be available without having the support of the Nation through PSP.
To make this bidding process even more accessible, an online bid board is in the works, which will make it easier for registered members of PSP to compete for bigger jobs and sales. This will allow vendors with a preferred supplier status more visibility with current and future CNO business opportunities as well.
Since the Choctaw Nation PSP got its start last year, it has already registered more than 200 businesses fitting into 39 different categories. It has aided and advocated for these Choctaw businesses.
Like the Hamilton family and their Achukma Pecan Oil, whose product, after receiving support from PSP, now sits on Choctaw Travel Plaza shelves waiting to be purchased. Boyd Miller brought the right people from within the Choctaw Nation—people from the Marketing Department and Business Development—in to help Achukma Pecan Oil get their business prepared and product ready to be sold at Choctaw Nation locations.
PSP works with growing business, but also established big businesses, like Bill McClure’s Coffee.org. This business, a coffee vendor already supplying goods to the Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw Nations, is partnering with PSP and the Choctaw Nation to offer new jobs and training to Choctaw people.
Even businesses outside of the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation have this aid and advocacy available to them. Like Brigette and Mike Viehe, who own and operate a Servpro clean-up business out of Texas. They are looking to expand their service area, to help residents within the Choctaw Nation when fire or water emergencies strike. Miller and the PSP are currently in the process of helping make that possible.
For Choctaws looking to support fellow Choctaws by buying their products or making use of their services, it is as simple as visiting preferredsuppliers.choctawnation.com, clicking on the Preferred Suppliers Listing link, and selecting from the list of certified vendors.
For Choctaw business people and entrepreneurs, becoming a certified vendor with PSP is as simple as creating your company profile and registering on the website, providing the appropriate documents, as well as a capabilities statement. Should you have any questions or need help in the development and registering of your business please contact Boyd Miller, Program Manager, at (580) 924-8280, ext. 2889.