Congressman Steve Knight is hosting his second annual event to support Santa Clarita Valley’s local wheelers and dealers with his second annual Small Business Conference and Expo.

“Small businesses are the heart of our economy,” said Congressman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale. “They create jobs for our neighbors and help our community thrive. I am proud to provide this opportunity for small business owners and employees to learn how they can grow their operations, and I look forward to seeing everyone on Aug. 3.”

The conference includes a public forum “that will explore ways in which the government and organizations can help small-business entrepreneurs,” according to Knight’s office.

The forum will consist of a panel discussion on four topics: community engagement; small-business assistance; small-business defense programs and assistance; and working with defense contractors.

Each panel will have representatives from three to four organizations/companies/agencies, including the SCV Small Business Development Council (SBDC-SCV), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the local Veteran Business Outreach Center (VBCO) and the Los Angeles County Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).

There will be something for everyone there, according to Knight’s office, from established small-business owners looking to grow their operations to prospective entrepreneurs who want to learn more about how agencies and other organizations can help them.

The event starts with an 8:30 a.m. check-in, with the conference running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The forum is taking place at The Centre, formerly known as the SCV Activities Center, at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway (on the corner of Centre Pointe Parkway and Golden Valley Road.

Click here to RSVP.