The San Diego County Water Authority and its 23 member agencies, in alliance with the State of California Department of General Services Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Collaboration Conferences, will host the eighth annual "Paths to Partnerships Networking Forum." The theme this year is “Climate of Change.”

The event will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday, November 2, 2006 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt located at One Market Place, San Diego, California. Registration is $25 per person or $40 on the day of the event. For online registration, visit www.pathsreg.org.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about industry hot topics and their effect on a changing contracting climate through participation in new discussion forums with public agency representatives. Open dialogue will be encouraged during these interactive, question-and-answer sessions. Potential questions may be submitted online at www.pathsreg.org. Attendees can also visit contractor, consultant, vendor, and public agency exhibits and receive a two- year look-ahead of upcoming public agency projects. For a complete list of participating agencies, visit www.pathsreg.org.

Proceeds from this year’s event will be forwarded to the San Diego Contracting Opportunities Center (SDCOC). The SDCOC assists San Diego small businesses with how to do business with federal, state and local government agencies. This assistance is provided at no cost to the small business owner. The center is funded by local government agencies and the Department of Defense.

For more information, contact Jackie Carmona with the Water Authority’s Small Contractor Outreach and Opportunities Program at (858) 522-6624 or jcarmona@sdcwa. org.