2025 North Puget Sound Contracting Conference Draws Record Crowd

Over 120 people attended the inaugural reception dinner on November 5 to kick off the 2025 North Puget Sound Contracting Conference (NPSCC). The following day welcomed over 500 people for the conference and tradeshow, the highest attendance on record for NPSCC. 

Hosted at the Lynwood Event Center, NPSCC is a two-day business-to-government event organized by Economic Alliance Snohomish County, Washington APEX Accelerator and the Small Business Development Council. It is focused on empowering businesses and connecting them with the people and resources they need to bid on and win government contracts. 

“EASC’s top priority is connecting business to the people and resources they need to thrive,” said Ray Stephanson, EASC President & CEO. “The North Puget Sound Contracting Conference is one of the best examples of the opportunity and potential our region holds, and we are proud to host the who’s-who of the business-to-government contracting space right here in Snohomish County.” 

A Positive Experience Every Time

"The positive energy and enthusiasm to learn and network was incredibly high, starting with a great turnout at the first-ever Welcome Reception on Wednesday night," said Cara Buckingham, APEX Accelerator Center Manager & Advisor. “We’re grateful for and inspired by each and every participant, exhibitor and sponsor that chose to spend the day to share opportunities and connect.”

Presented by BMW of Lynnwood, and in partnership with Snohomish County, Edmonds College, Securitybricks and Absher Construction, the 2025 edition of the North Puget Sound Contracting Conference had representation from a medley of organizations. 

This included those within the business-to-government contracting pipeline, from agencies to primes to consultants, as well as micro and small businesses wanting to make their next big move to industry-leading corporations. 

“We’ve been here consecutively for the last four years or so,” said Jeremy Don, Project Executive at Mortenson. “We’ve had a positive experience every time. The number of connections that we make that you can actually tie to opportunities has just been phenomenal.”  

The conference featured a trade show with 100 exhibiting companies as well as live matchmaking between primes and companies bidding on contracts. In addition, several workshop sessions were held on topics such as CMMC compliance, effective AI utilization and how to begin the contracting journey through government portals.

“The amount of value Sound Surveillance has gotten from coming to NPSCC speaks volumes to how important it is for companies like ours as small business contractors. It is the biggest ROI for us,” said Tony Matesi, Chief Growth & Technology Officer at Sound Surveillance. “There’s nothing that comes close to being as valuable as these events. We’ve done a lot of different kinds of marketing and sales, and the number one thing for us has been attending events like the North Puget Sound Contracting Conference.”

The 2026 North Puget Sound Contracting Conference will be held October 28 and 29, 2026, and will return to the Lynnwood Event Center. Tickets will go on sale in the spring at EconomicAllianceSC.org.