Our live trainings, offer dynamic and interactive learning experiences designed to equip you with practical skills and actionable knowledge in real time. These sessions provide the opportunity to engage directly with APEX staff and industry experts, ask questions, and participate in discussions that deepen your understanding of government contracting topics. We hold most of our trainings online to offer maximum convenience, allowing participants to easily access valuable content without the need for travel.
The TN APEX Accelerator, in partnership with C.J. Mahana Construction Company, LLC, invites interested Construction Firms to participate in an upcoming Subcontractor Outreach Event in support of an anticipated U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project in Memphis, Tennessee.
This outreach is being conducted to identify qualified subcontractors and suppliers to help meet Small Business Participation goals. Firms that fall within the following socioeconomic classifications are strongly encouraged to attend and express interest:
- Small Business (SB): 15%
- Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB): 5%
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB): 5%
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB): 3%
- HUBZone Small Business: 3%
This event will provide an opportunity to learn more about the project scope, connect with the prime contractor team, and explore subcontracting opportunities.
Interested firms are encouraged to attend and be prepared to share their capabilities, certifications, and past performance.
Annually the Federal, State, and Local governments in the U.S. award nearly $5.5 Trillion in contracts and subcontracts via the proposal process.
- Gain an understanding of the overall proposal process and best practices
- Learn to develop compliance matrices, outlines, and other tools
- Discover techniques to differentiate your proposals from your competition
- Have your proposal questions answered
Are you Ready?
If your business is pursuing or performing on Department of Defense contracts, you now need to be CMMC Level 1 compliant.
The Basics: As a federal government contractor, supplier, or vendor, you handle Federal Contract Information (FCI), and you must comply with the basic contractor cybersecurity requirements listed in the FAR 52.204-21 clause. As of November 10, 2026 contractors working in the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) will have to complete a self-assessment and affirm they meet these requirements as part of a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 1 self-assessment.
The Tennessee APEX Accelerator is offering a guided workshop series to help on your road to compliance.
Click here to learn more.
COST: A one-time $100 technology fee is payable to Govology
SCHEDULE:
Join us for part of our Federal Contracting Playbook Series with RSM Federal. We will be led by nationally-recognized experts from RSM Federal, an award-winning firm that works with companies to accelerate their understanding of the government market and learn how to position for and successfully win government contracts - with exceptional results.
Session 1 - Who Buys What You Sell: A Step-by-Step Process
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Identifying who buys, how much, and how often is called “Propensity” – and it helps you identify which military commands and federal agencies buy what you sell. Unlike most sessions, this is much more than a general or abstract discussion. This session, designed for “Business Readiness,” will accelerate your ability to validate who buys what you sell (down to the state, city, and contracting office level); to help transform how and where you engage the market; and to help validate the competitiveness of your pricing… for any specific opportunity.
Session 2 - Explosive Value: Leveraging and Communicating Past Performance
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
If you’re looking for tactics and strategies on how to position and communicate your company’s past performance, this seminar will change how you market, communicate and differentiate your products and services. In an educational, fast-paced, and high-energy seminar, we look at how most companies market their “experience” and past performance, with moderate success and little to no differentiation.
CMMC compliance starts with understanding the framework, certification levels, and data types that determine your requirements. This webinar will walk through CMMC fundamentals, including FCI vs. CUI, certification paths, timelines, and the basic preparation steps contractors must take before an assessment. Designed for organizations seeking clarity before committing time and resources.
Offered in partnership with The Core Colution.
Surety bonding is often seen as a technical hurdle, but for many small businesses, it can be the key to unlocking significant procurement opportunities. This presentation will help you discover how surety bonds can be a game-changer for your business growth. Mr. Gibbs will share proven strategies to improve your bonding capacity, break through common barriers, and gain a competitive edge in both public and private sector contracting. With bonding often being the missing link between readiness and revenue, this session will empower participants to turn a perceived barrier into a business growth tool.
The presentation will cover:
- Why bonds are important
- SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program
- How to obtain a surety bond
- Underwriting an account
- Reasons Why Small Business get denied bonding
- Benefits of working with an SBA surety expert
- Top 10 tips for contractors/small businesses
What You’ll Learn:
- How surety bonds guaranteed by SBA work and why they’re essential for businesses seeking contracts in industries such as construction, government contracting, and more.
- Guidance on how to access SBA surety bonds with less hassle.
- Tips for overcoming common barriers small businesses face when securing surety bonds.
- Strategies to increase your eligibility and win more business by leveraging SBA support.
- Leave with actionable insights to assess your current bonding status, identify areas for improvement, and build stronger relationships with bonding partners and procurement stakeholders.
Ready to grow your business with government agencies in East & Middle Tennessee?
Event highlights:
- Connect face-to-face with government procurement officials and frontline employees who can make small purchasing decisions.
- Meet key business resource organizations.
- Build relationships, discover contracts, and position your company for success!
- Bring your business cards, prepare your elevator pitch, and join us for an informative and beneficial morning of networking!
Participating organizations:
- Blount County Government
- City of Chattanooga
- City of Knoxville
- Hamilton County Government
- Knox County Government
- Knoxville's Community Development Corporation (KCDC)
- Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)
- Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA)
- University of Tennessee CIS APEX Accelerator
- Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR)
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
- TSBDC and Roane State Community College
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
- University of Tennessee System
Governor’s Office of Business Initiatives and Development (GO-BID)
State Government Procurement Certification Workshop
When Small Businesses 'GO-BID' Tennessee Wins
Join us for an interactive workshop designed to help local businesses navigate the state government procurement process and become officially registered and certified to compete for contracting opportunities.
This session will walk participants through:
- The vendor registration process with the state’s procurement system
- Steps to obtain Business certifications
- How to identify and bid on upcoming state and local contract opportunities
- Key tips to strengthen your profile and grow through public-sector partnerships
Whether you’re new to government contracting or ready to expand your reach, this workshop offers hands-on guidance from state procurement professionals and resources to help your business succeed.
Who Should Attend? Small business owners, entrepreneurs, and vendors interested in doing business with state agencies.
Take the first step toward becoming a certified state supplier — and open the door to new opportunities!
Most organizations today recognize AI's potential. Yet many struggle with the critical gap between strategic ambition and practical execution. This session cuts through the hype and reveals how to build an AI roadmap that bridges business goals with technical reality, ensuring your investments drive measurable returns rather than collecting digital dust.
The challenge is real: executives want competitive advantage through AI, but without a clear line of sight from business outcomes to specific AI initiatives, organizations waste resources on disconnected pilots and experimental projects. This creates frustration across the board; leadership doubts AI's value, technical teams feel misaligned with priorities, and the organization fails to build meaningful capability.
This event provides a framework and proven approach to solve this problem.
We will discuss:
- A Practical AI Roadmap
Understand how AI goals map to business objectives and know pillars of enterprise AI plan. - Front Office AI (Sales, Marketing, CX)
Identify high ROI AI patterns for revenue teams. Understand enablement required. - Back Office AI (Finance, HR, Operations)
See how AI reduces cycle time and improves accuracy. Plan role-specific enablement. - Change Management for AI Adoption
Apply ADKAR model to AI initiatives. Avoid change fatigue. - Cybersecurity, Governance, and Risk
Implement secure-by-design AI. Privacy, IP protection, compliance. - SME Lightning Demos and Q&A
Discuss actual tools and best practices.
Join us for an informative in-person opportunity designed to help local businesses learn about TVA's procurement process and how to compete for contracting opportunities. JW Cole from TVA will be our speaker.