Midwest Regional Procurement Meeting Day 1

Wednesday began with presentations from vendors on natural gas consortia and fuel hedging.

States present include: Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Pennsylvania.

An interesting side note...Cooperating School Districts (CSD) partners with a local school district and the St. Louis Science Center to provide the Challenger Learning Center-St. Louis. The center uses a space theme (Voyage to Mars mission) and simulations as a teaching tool for both students instruction and team building, www.challenger.org. The Challenger Learning Center-St. Louis may be a good contact as Greenbush moves toward a Mission to Mars program at Abernathy Science Education Center.

Each state present was given the opportunity to address the group in regard to their organization and how they apprise the school districts they serve of AEPA:

• Indiana: They have a unique e-procurement model for their members to use.
• Kansas: Dave Adams, Tremco, suggested capitalizing on our name "Greenbush" to align with the current "green" movement.
• Kentucky: They have a great one page, folded flier that outlines all AEPA vendors, including their current bid number. Kentucky hosts a vendor fair each spring at which they create a venue for their school district personnel and vendors to network.
• California: Facilitates a "Best Purchasing Practices Workshop."
• Pennsylvania: Host January/February vendor roadshows with keynote speaker.