United States Department of Defense

            Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Michael Wynne will be the keynote speaker and announce the winners of the 2005 Nunn-Perry Awards at a breakfast ceremony Thursday, March 17, at 8:00 a.m. EST at the Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, Fla.  The Nunn-Perry Awards ceremony is the main event at this year's Mentor-Protégé Conference being held March 15-17, by the Department of Defense Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization office.

            Winners of the Nunn-Perry award are determined by the successes of the mentor-protégé team in achieving cost efficiencies, enhancing the protégé's technical capabilities, and increasing new business opportunities for DoD prime contracts and subcontracts.  The award is named in honor of former Senator Sam Nunn and former Secretary of Defense William Perry.  Their sponsorship and commitment were instrumental in creating and implementing the DoD Mentor-Protégé program.

            The Mentor-Protégé Conference and Wynne's speech are open for media coverage.  The point of contact is David Pisano, (703) 588-8639, or (407) 351-2420.