Employees celebrate grand opening

Members of the Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, joined Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania, employees as they celebrated the grand opening of the Tobyhanna Office Express Store Sept. 17.

ACC-APG's Tobyhanna Division established the contract for the Tobyhanna Office Express, which offers a range of products from the AbilityOne procurement list for purchase by authorized Government Purchase Card holders.

"The store will be a great asset to the depot community and will stock about 1,500 products including typical office supplies, janitorial products and other common use items," said Judy Haff, chief, of ACC-APG's Tobyhanna Division. "Construction for the store began in early 2014 to transform an existing building into a 5,000 square-foot store front and storage area.

"Contract Specialist Mark Buonomo was assigned to the project and he provided key contractual support and planning for the new store," Haff added. "He worked closely with the contractor to ensure every detail was addressed and he established training for GPC holders."

According to Buonomo, the store is a win-win situation for the community and the AbilityOne Program.

"The new service is a convenient supply source for the TYAD tenant agencies and will also support local National Guard and Reserve units," he said. "Some key elements of the contract included eliminating the minimum purchase threshold and guaranteed price matching, which will help smaller offices stretch their supply budgets. In addition, a same or next-day delivery service has been established. Most importantly, this AbilityOne contract will provide job opportunities for individuals with disabilities, including wounded warriors."

Haff said the contract was established with the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a non-profit organization with a mission to assist people who are blind and visually impaired to achieve their highest level of independence.