November 18, 2010 -- Orlando, FL - Major L. Clark III, Assistant Chief Counsel for Procurement at the Small Business Administration (SBA), was presented the MAPPS Public Service Award on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at the MAPPS Fall Policy Conference in Orlando, FL.

Mr. Clark was recognized for his role in revising the "retainage" regulation. His leadership led to the revision of a provision in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that mandated a clause in Federal contracts for architecture and engineering services, including surveying and mapping services, that mandated a withholding or retainage of 10 percent of fees, regardless of the risk to the government or the quality of the firm's performance. The rule, FAR 52.232-10, was revised in March 2010, as the first regulation to go through the SBA Office of Advocacy process known as R3 -- Regulatory Review and Reform --  from nomination to final regulatory revision. The regulatory change Clark shepherded through the Federal bureaucracy made retainage a negotiable, discretionary contract provision. 

SBA estimated this action will save small businesses in the architecture, engineering, surveying and mapping field $335 million.

The Public Service Award was established by the MAPPS board of directors to recognize and honor employees in public service positions who have made extraordinary contributions to the public and the geospatial profession in their government service roles.

"Major Clark has long been an effective advocate for small business, but went above and beyond the call of duty to see the retainage rule changed," said John Palatiello, MAPPS Executive Director.

Mr. Clark began his current position in 1998 as Assistant General Counsel for Procurement Policy in SBA's Office of Advocacy.  He previously served as staff director to the Small Business Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, Associate Graduate Professor at Morgan State University, and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Administration for an information technology firm.

Clark is only the second recipient of the MAPPS award. It was first presented to Moody K. "M.K." Miles, III Deputy Chief of Engineering and Construction, Civil Works Directorate, headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in June 2007.

About MAPPS
Formed in 1982, MAPPS is the only national association exclusively comprised of private firms in the remote sensing, spatial data and geographic information systems field in the United States. The MAPPS membership spans the entire spectrum of the geospatial community, including Member Firms engaged in satellite and airborne remote sensing, surveying, photogrammetry, aerial photography, LIDAR, hydrography, bathymetry, charting, aerial and satellite image processing, GPS, and GIS data collection and conversion services. MAPPS also includes Associate Member Firms, which are companies that provide hardware, software, products and services to the geospatial profession in the United States and other firms from around the world. Independent Consultant Members are sole proprietors engaged in consulting in or to the geospatial profession, or provides a consulting service of interest to the geospatial profession.

MAPPS provides its 180+ member firms opportunities for networking and developing business-to-business relationships, information sharing, education, public policy advocacy, market growth, and professional development and image enhancement.

For more information on MAPPS, please visit www.MAPPS.org.