An economic development leader in the region is the new president of a statewide nonprofit focused helping businesses secure government contracts.

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, or PTAC, of Michigan has elected Pamela Vanderlaan-Poort, director of the Muskegon Area First PTAC, to the role.

PTAC of Michigan consists of 10 regional Procurement Technical Assistance Centers that serve all of Michigan’s 83 counties.

PTACs assist businesses in selling products and services to government markets.

The organization’s members are comprised of procurement professionals with varied degrees in government contracting and members of the national Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, or APTAC.

Vanderlaan-Poort's background

Vanderlaan-Poort has been director of the Muskegon Area First PTAC since 1989. Her role includes counseling business owners in marketing their products and services to federal, state, local and international markets.

She has extensive experience in government contracting procedures and policies, government regulations, bid preparation and pre- and post-award administration.

She has received the Defense Logistics Agency 20-Year Service Award from the Director's Office of Small Business Programs.

She is also a member of APTAC, sitting on the board of the Bylaws Committee, and active with several chambers of commerce and economic development organizations.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University in marketing, a master’s certificate from The George Washington University School of Business and completed the International Marketing Program from the Thunderbird Management Center, American Graduate School of International Management.

PTAC

PTAC was launched in 1985 under the Defense Logistics Agency’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program to assist businesses with selling to the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal, state and local government markets.

The PTAC program was established to increase competition among federal government suppliers and has been supported by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. since the inception of the program.