Longtime Choice Partners vendor Facility Sources likes to use a Hurricane Harvey story to illustrate why school district and municipality members of the Choice Partners national purchasing cooperative benefit from easy-to-use, legal contracts for their facilities solutions.

At the 2019 Annual Vendor Exhibit “Catch the Procurement Wave” held in southeast Houston, the company’s project manager Wayne Bryant took a few minutes to reflect on the past two busy-yet-productive years.

Rewind back to August 2017 when Humble ISD’s Kingwood High School took in six feet of water. District officials estimated a full year for repairs in order to get students back onto campus from the neighboring Summer Creek High School where they had to share space.

“They had called a couple of job order contractors and one had backed out because they didn’t know if they could handle the task,” Bryant recalled. “We were able to expedite the project and get the kids back into school by Spring Break 2018,” he said.

The 700-plus vendors in Choice Partners co-op offer services ranging from construction JOC to consulting services to food supplies and equipment. Some approximate 1,500 members benefit from time-and- money saved, plus legally bid contracts.

“During this annual vendor exhibit event, our members and vendors are able to exchange valuable information face-to-face,” said Jeff Drury, Choice Partners director.

More than 100 members networked with the 119 attending vendors at the event held at Bayou City Events Center.

One of the newest vendors showcasing services at the expo was Versa Creative, who joined the co-op to offer a variety of marketing and advertising services to Choice Partners members. Founder Mary Shekari and client services specialist Karaline Harrell staffed the booth in Hawaiian attire, providing detailed information about the types of service Versa Creative offers.

“We’ve been in business for 10 years but have recently become a Choice Partners vendor and are honored to have been awarded a contract with Choice,” Harrell said. “We’re excited to partner with all the members because we have a special place in our hearts for nonprofits and educational entities.”

For more information on how to become a Choice Partners vendor or a member, go to www.choicepartners.org.