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The “VA Outpatient Clinic Vancouver” project is out for bid and has very stringent rules if you are going to bid as a general contractor. Your company must be a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned business (SDVO). To be considered as such, the company must be at least 51% owned by an individual who the Government recognizes as service-disabled veteran-owned.

I decided to call some of the general contractors on the plan holders list and I found out that most of them, indeed, were SDVO.  I also heard the words, “Viet Nam” over and over.  I heard a lot of sad stories… It brought back memories of my high school years when a lot of my friends were drafted and some never came home.

A few of the companies had withdrawn from bidding because they found out that their company did not qualify.  Some companies had decided not to bid and some were bidding as subcontractors or suppliers.

The last company on the list was listed as “Veterans of America” and I almost didn’t call them because I thought it was probably an organization.  I decided to call and a voice answered with a simple, “Hello”.  I explained that I was calling the generals on the VA project and that I had probably gotten a wrong number.  “Nope.”  That’s the way he wanted his company listed.  The actual name of the company is Veterans of America, LLC—and under the name is “General Construction“.  The man explained that the company name is listed as Veterans of America so that people will ask questions. And he certainly enjoys answering them.  It was almost like listening to a political ad, but I loved it anyway.  He really emphasized how much he appreciated the SDVO program.

I told him about a company that was on the plan holders list that usually bids as a general contractor but they told me that there going to bid as a subcontractor.  I asked him, “Is that legal?”  Most definitely.

Sometimes the SDVO business don’t have all the working experience, bonding or money to bid a project so they partner with another company.  It helps the small, qualifying company and the partnering company also reaps the benefits of being able to work on a job that they wouldn’t have been able to bid on.  Another SDVO general contractor I talked to didn’t agree with partnerships and told me that it was “…big companies using the small veteran-owned companies as fronts”.  But, my SDVO phone partner told me, “I’d rather have a piece of the pie than have nothing at all”.

If you get a chance to look at the list of general contractors on the VA job, I think you will find a new respect for these veterans.  I know I have.