Poarch Band of Creek Indians company inks $217 million deal to provide NASA communications
(Courtesy, Poarch Band of Creek Indians) NASA has picked an Alabama media company owned by the state’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians to manage communications for the entire space agency including NASA headquarters and all NASA centers.
The contract with PCI Productions LLC, a Huntsville company, and its partners in “Team Creek” is worth $217 million if all options are exercised. It is a support contract meaning the company supports or helps write and produce NASA centers’ communications releases. But it could expand to sharing NASA stories, videos, and other information directly to the public, NASA said.
“This type of a contract is not new for the tribe,” Poarch Band spokeswoman Kristin Hellmich said. “They have a division that is called PCI Federal Services.”
That tribal division includes work in aviation maintenance and engineering, construction, facilities support, professional business services, technology solutions and general facilities services and maintenance, Hellmich said.
NASA wants the widest possible spread of information about its space missions, said Johnny Stephenson, NASA deputy associate administrator for communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
That means the contract includes communications, planning, stakeholder relations, public engagement, media relations services, history and archives services, library services and Freedom of Information Act requests, NASA said.
The contract is for 16 months with one 20-month optional extension period and two one-year options. The potential value is approximately $217.6 million, NASA said.The NASA contract is an example of how the 2,700-member tribe is active in businesses beyond its best-known gaming operations, Hellmich agreed.The tribe has different divisions handling […]