Stanislaus County, the City of Modesto, and The Alliance have partnered to host Purchasing Powers 2014, an event for local individuals and business owners to learn how to do business with governmental agencies.

The event will discuss doing business with the State of California, Caltrans, local government, and public agencies from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30.

"This is the first in what we hope will become an annual outreach to our emerging, new and small business communities to assist them with the local government vendor procurement process," said Keith Boggs, Assistant Executive Officer for Stanislaus County.

The expo will include a question and answer session with a panel of experts on the subject. There will also be networking with procurement representatives from government and contracting agencies.

Although attendance is free, space is limited. Advance registration is required.

To register, call 209-567-4910 or go online to www.alliancesbdc.com.The first 150 registrants will receive a free lunch.

The event will be held in the Harvest Hall Ag Center at 3800 Cornucopia Way in Modesto.