HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. – As the Small Business director here prepares to retire, he said he’s “extremely proud” to have been a member of the Hanscom team.
“Hanscom has dedicated people who want to serve their country,” Bill Donaldson said. “Many diverse personnel working together toward the command goal of providing the goods and services our warfighters need.”
After starting out as a chemist in private industry in Pennsylvania, Donaldson was jealous of the postcards he was getting from friends who had participated in ROTC and were now stationed around the world. In 1978, he met with an Air Force recruiter, promising four years and saying he “might” stay longer if it was “fun.” After 22 years in active duty, and nearly 18 years as a civilian airman, the director is still having fun.
“Not two days were alike and the places I’ve been and the people I’ve worked with and met have been amazing,” he said. “I’ve been quite fortunate to have been a part of the Air Force for more than half of its almost-71-year history.”
Donaldson said being the Small Business director at Hanscom, which he took on in July 2004, has been a “great job.”
“We get to see everything happening on the base, from both the PEO [Program Executive Officer] acquisition side and the procurement side, as we coordinate on all actions over $10,000,” he said. “We cherish our role as Air Force delegates to the industrial base.”
During his time the director said he has seen small business efforts expand with the Better Buying Power initiative, incorporating small business goals into senior leader expectations and the use of small business solutions, such as Small Business Innovative Research, Section 8A (Small Business Act 1931, 1956) which allows for sole source, and also the ability to sole source to Alaskan/Hawaiian-native-owned businesses.
“Hanscom teams use each of these tools,” he said. “Hanscom has a great environment, attitude and a level of cooperation to a degree I haven’t seen before. Working together, I hope that we got the warfighter better products, better services in a shorter time and at a better price.”
Donaldson added that Hanscom is a unique place to work, as just this week he was talking to personnel from Offutt, Nebraska, to Dayton, Ohio, and even overseas locations. He’s gotten to see numerous command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, trying to connect them with the appropriate program office.
Donaldson added the members of Team Hanscom are dedicated to small business, which makes his job easier, and making the base a “force multiplier” for small businesses. In fiscal year 2016, the base had more than $700 million in small business contracts, and $600 million in fiscal year 2017.
The director said he’d especially like to thank Hanscom’s current PEOs, Maj. Gen. Dwyer Dennis, PEO for C3I&N; Steve Wert, PEO for Battle Management; and Col. Al LaPuma, PEO for NC3; for the support they’ve provided to his office.
“The PEOs are truly top-shelf and I couldn’t have wished to work with anyone better.”
Donaldson also added his thanks to the five-star organizations that his office has partnered with, including the Hanscom Representatives Association, Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, the Military Affairs Council and the Air Force Association.
His greatest thanks went to Ellen McDonnell, Hanscom’s Small Business deputy director, who has worked alongside Donaldson since 2009.
Donaldson’s last day at Hanscom will be March 23. Following that he plans to spend time with family and enjoy retirement.
“I’m proud and humbled to have been part of the Air Force with the men and women who serve on a daily basis,” he said. “But as [Jerry] Seinfeld said, ‘You got to get off the stage when you’re on top,’ and since taking this job, I’ve been on top of the world!’