NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, May 20 to award the 2016 Small Business Administrator’s Cup. And for the second straight year, and the fifth time in the award’s eight-year history, he awarded the cup to Marshall.
The award recognized Marshall for the work of its Small Business Program in fiscal year 2015 to promote the participation of small businesses in helping NASA achieve its goals. Marshall also won for its small business efforts in fiscal years 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
“From the Space Launch System to the International Space Station to all the important work being done here day-in and day-out to support businesses large, medium and small, there is one very large conclusion we can all come to — the journey to Mars runs through Marshall,” said Bolden.
“Small businesses are playing a big part in our journey to Mars,” said Marshall Center Director Todd May. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and here at Marshall we know that they are also the backbone of exploration.”
Marshall’s fifth Administrator’s Cup cements the center’s dynasty, Bolden said. “You’re only one championship ring away from matching Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.”
As with any dynasty, every team needs a superstar, like Jordan, leading the offense. For Marshall, that superstar is small business specialist David Brock.
“Brock’s leadership in supporting small business is second-to-none,” said Bolden. “You often hear me refer to him as a ‘national treasure.’ That’s because he is.”
“We have implemented many of Marshall and Brock’s programs agency wide,” said Glenn Delgado, NASA’s associate administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs, who was also on hand for the presentation. “There’s no question, of all the small business specialists, he is the best of the best.
“Marshall has one of the best small business teams in the federal government,” added Delgado. “The way they integrate industry and the senior management support is a model for the agency — as their five Administrator’s Cups can attest.”
“This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the full support of our management across all organizations,” said Brock. “Creativity can only come through collaboration. It takes a team to innovate. This award is for the team, and I give them full credit. I am lucky to be part of the team, and I thank them very much.
“Success, however, does not lie in the achievement of the success, it lies in the journey to achieve the success,” Brock said. “Today we have achieved another milestone in the program, but the journey continues. Hopefully there will be many more milestones along the journey.”
For more information about the NASA Small Business Administrator’s Cup Award and NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs, visit:
To learn more about doing business with the Marshall Center, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/about/business.html
Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0632
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov