Ben Cardin: “today I wish to celebrate the contributions of Renee Sprow, who dedicated over 30 years of service to the Small Business…”

“today I wish to celebrate the contributions of Renee Sprow, who dedicated over 30 years of service to the Small Business Development Center, SBDC, network. Ms. Sprow spent her career promoting economic development and the growth of small businesses, which means that she spent her career helping countless people and their families achieve the American dream. One of many highlights of Ms. Sprow's service to the Federal Government and private industry was her critical role in helping to establish the National Minority Purchasing Council, now known as the National Minority Supplier Development Council, which reports private contracts exceeding $1 billion to minority suppliers. She designed and directed small, minority and women-owned subcontracting programs for major Federal and private-sector construction and revitalization projects, resulting in the award of multimillion dollar subcontracts. Under Ms. Sprow's leadership as director of the Maryland SBDC, the value of contracts awarded to minority firms who met the U.S. Department of Defense's Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Business Utilization qualifications increased by more than 200 percent. Ms. Sprow also participated in the drafting of Public Law 95-507, which established the legal authority to reshape Federal procurement policy for contracting with minority and women-owned firms. As an entrepreneur herself, Mr.…”