- Details
- By Brian Edwards
- Native Contracting
Eastern Shawnee Professional Services announced two new joint ventures this week, adding to a string of 8(a) partnerships under a new management team that arrived just 18 months ago.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based company, owned by the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, formed federal-contracting partnerships with both Veracity Consulting and Bay West through separate joint ventures announced May 7 and May 8.
The partnerships bring Eastern Shawnee's total joint ventures to eight since CEO Matt Metcalf and his management team arrived in November 2023 — an unusually rapid pace for tribal businesses entering federal contracting. The tribe obtained SBA 8(a) certification in June 2024.
Metcalf, a Navy veteran who’s worked with tribal enterprises for more than a decade, told Tribal Business News the joint ventures are central to how the company projects bigger than it actually is as a startup. “One of the hardest things to get into the market right off the bat is to establish the past performance or qualifications and bench depth,” he said.
The joint ventures allow Eastern Shawnee to leverage the JV partners' past performance while maintaining a controlling interest to comply with 8(a) requirements. The company has launched JVs across different service lines, including engineering, broadband, on-site support and other services.
The new JV with St. Paul, Minn.-based Bay West operates under the SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program, focusing on environmental services including military munitions response, hazardous waste management, and PFAS remediation for federal contracts.
The other new JV with Overland Park, Kan.-based Veracity Consulting targets federal IT services, combining ESPS's 8(a) status with Veracity's technology expertise. Veracity, a Native- and woman-owned firm, provides IT infrastructure and security services, legacy system modernization, network support, program management, data management, and testing.
Metcalf emphasizes that the joint ventures aren't passive arrangements that merely leverage the tribe’s 8(a) status. “If that's the case, then we're not making money for the Eastern Shawnee, which defeats the purpose of being in business,” he said.
He added that joint venture partners help Eastern Shawnee build technical capabilities, expand workforce and hire specialized staff as contracts are awarded.
The overall approach contrasts with how many tribes enter federal contracting. Rather than hiring one key executive with federal experience, Eastern Shawnee brought in a full management team from the start, including marketing, business development, accounting, HR and executive leadership.
The strategy has yielded rapid results: 31 federal contracts alongside the 8(a) certification and the JVs, according to Metcalf.
“This isn't an experiment,” he said. “We have put together what I'd consider a recipe for success.”
The tribe, which operates Indigo Sky Casino & Resort and other businesses, has approximately 3,800 enrolled members. The federal contracting initiative represents a strategic expansion into government contracting markets.
Metcalf said the ultimate goal for Eastern Shawnee Professional Services is building sustainable federal contracting capabilities that can eventually operate without 8(a) benefits.
“My goal is to build Eastern Shawnee companies as federal contracting entities (that can win business) regardless of socio-economic status,” he said.
