Columbia, MD -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/14/2006 --In 1985 when Bob Salisbury was asked by one of his clients to help them locate small businesses to team with on government business opportunities, he had an idea. He scheduled a breakfast meeting at the Ramada Inn (now the Doubletree) in Vienna, VA and invited small businesses from around the beltway to participate in what would be the first meeting of the Washington Breakfast Club known as the WBC.

That first meeting drew twenty four attendees, most of whom were small businesses and three of them large --- Titan, Honeywell and Unisys. The first WBC speaker was Mr. Patrick Casey, Vice President of Unisys, who stated during his presentation that the goal of the meeting was to develop teaming relationships between the attendees, called WBC’ers. That goal, adopted by the newly formed club, remains the primary agenda to this day.

Twenty years later, the Washington Breakfast Club has hosted speakers from nearly every federal agency, including the legislative branch, and has featured government officials chartered with small business outreach, program management responsibility and agency executives. The intent was to have speakers who could discuss opportunities relevant to information technology companies seeking business opportunities with their agency.

To date, more than $350M in teaming agreements have been realized by members of the Washington Breakfast Club.

With the monthly meetings now held at the Tower Club of Tysons in Vienna, VA, Bob decided to enlist new blood to ensure that the WBC’s mission continued. He tapped Guy Timberlake, CEO and Co-Founder of The American Small Business Coalition, LLC, who joins the newly formed Washington Breakfast Club, LLC as Executive Vice President and co-owner.

According to Salisbury, Founder and President of the WBC, “This was a natural progression, given that the charter of both organizations is focused on helping small businesses succeed in federal contracting. The ASBC provides a logical next step for many small businesses and Guy has established a solid pattern of productive support for companies around the region.”

The launch of the new club and sponsorship program is slated for the June WBC event which will feature Mr. Dennis Clem, OSD CIO, CIO Pentagon, responsible for operational support to all organizations within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The presenting sponsor for the June WBC event is MorganFranklin Corporation (www.morgan-franklin.com) a rapidly-growing provider of business advisory, consulting, engineering and integration services to public and private sector clients.

Recent speakers at the Washington Breakfast Club include Scott Denniston of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Simone Rollings of the National Security Agency and Col. Carl Hunt, USA, Ph.D. of U.S. Strategic Command. The May 18th event features presenters from Marine Corps Systems Command who will discuss how MARCORSYSCOM supports the acquisition requirements for operational units of the Marine Corps. Tom Ferguson, Director of the Office of Geospatial Intelligence Management for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is confirmed for the July WBC event.

“Guests who want to attend on a pay-as-you-go basis can still do so under the new club program. Members will have access to an array of features and services provided by the WBC and our sponsors designed to inform and assist federal contractors. In response to feedback from WBC members, we’re creating advisory and support committees to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of the WBC’ers,” adds Timberlake. “We’re also entering into agreements with other organizations to leverage their offerings to benefit our membership and vice-versa.”

Salisbury adds, “The keys to success in this market are what you know and who knows you. Washington Breakfast Club has consistently provided opportunities for our participants to be informed and to be seen. The new membership and sponsorships will only complement that.”

“The job that Bob has done over the last twenty years is phenomenal. I attended WBC events years ago when companies in this market didn’t readily collaborate the way many do today,” says Timberlake. “Small Businesses still face an uphill battle in this marketplace and the WBC is reshaping the way we support the business community to help companies achieve their goals, and to help government agencies get access to the best products, services and solutions available from the small business community.”

For more information about the Washington Breakfast Club or to register for an upcoming event, visit them on the web at www.washingtonbreakfastclub.org.