An Octopus's Garden, led by florist Timi Huskinson, above, is creating 10 centerpieces and two larger displays for a hospitality suite in a ballroom at The Venetian for NBA All-Star Weekend. She welcomed the opportunity to work with major-league sports. Photo by Sara Tramiel. Jose Barba works the folding machine Tuesday at A&B Printing in Las Vegas. A&B is printing as much as $75,000 in collateral materials during All-Star week, including programs, promotional posters and signs. Photo by John Locher.

Everything about the National Basketball Association is big.

The 7-foot players. The $15 million annual salaries. The multibillion-dollar television contracts.

But when players take the court at the Thomas & Mack Center for tonight's NBA All-Star Game, part of the credit for the event's success will go to some of Las Vegas' smallest businesses.

That's because the NBA makes a concerted effort to connect with businesses based in All-Star host cities. The league especially concentrates on tapping into networks of minority- and woman-owned businesses, with outreach initiatives targeting minority chambers of commerce and trade groups such as the National Association of Women Business Owners. League officials educate businesses and trade organizations on qualification criteria, service needs and how much money the NBA will spend on local vendor contracts.

"Everything we can spend locally, we do," said Ski Austin, an executive vice president with the NBA.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said the drive to include minority- and woman-owned companies in All-Star Weekend began in 1991, when a cluster of minority business owners in Charlotte, N.C., where the event was held, told league officials they felt they were excluded from working on All-Star activities.

"We said, 'You know, you're right,' " Stern said. "It hasn't been a problem since."

Reaching out to local companies "is the right thing to do," Stern added. "It's also good business. (Smaller, local vendors) will walk through walls for you. This is not a charity program. We've found a vein of people who will really do it for us."

Carolyn Stephens, a founder of the local chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, said the opportunity to work for a high-profile organization with a global brand can pay serious dividends, teaching once-in-a-lifetime lessons and burnishing the credentials that can help a company garner new business for years to come.

"It's very exciting," Stephens said. "The benefit of this opportunity isn't only about new business and money. It also looks good on a résumé. For now and forever, they'll be able to say they were a vendor to the NBA All-Star Game."

For the small Las Vegas businesses working with the NBA during All-Star 2007, capitalizing on the experience has required the kind of agility fans might see on the court from the league's nimblest guards. Their rise to the challenge holds lessons for other local companies looking to sign and fulfill major vending contracts for goods and services.

A HECTIC WINTER SEASON

It's unusual for a company's work force to jump 200 percent overnight.

Yet, that's what happened at Somers Furniture Rental and Sales in late January. Debbi Somers added 40 temporary staff members to her permanent work force of 20 to accommodate a surge in winter business thanks in part to Super Bowl-related parties at local casinos and All-Star Weekend.

Somers is scheduled to deliver more than 1,000 pieces of furniture, including couches, chairs and tables, for special events through the weekend. The company is also providing desks for the league's production team. The company began building custom furniture for the week's activities about nine months ago, Somers said.

It's been a hectic winter, but Somers said she wouldn't have it any other way.

"There's nothing bad about more business," Somers said. "It's been wonderful."

The staff count has also jumped at A&B Printing, where six contract workers are supplementing the full-time employee base of 41, owner Kathy Gillespie said.

A&B is printing as much as $75,000 in collateral materials during All-Star Weekend, including programs for the All-Star Jam Session, promotional posters featuring players and signs directing volunteers. A&B also printed the All-Star preferred-vendor guide, and the company is handling the daily program. Managing the program job demands a quick turnaround: A&B receives files at about 1 p.m., e-mails proofs back a few hours later and must ship 10,000 to 25,000 programs by 9 p.m. A&B will print 70,000 programs before the all-star events have concluded.

All-Star Weekend hasn't augmented just A&B; the series of events has also had broad effects on Southern Nevada's economy, Gillespie said.

"We had to buy additional paper and we had to buy additional ink," she said. "That gives a local boost to the company we buy the paper from, and that (paper) salesperson gets a commission on our purchases. It's true trickle-down economics when someone like the NBA is dedicated to using local vendors."

At public-relations firm PR Plus, owner Laura Herlovich hasn't increased her five-employee work force to promote the All-Star Jam Session. She has, however, enlisted the understanding of her other clients.

"We do have to be much more organized in planning our staffing," Herlovich said. "Everyone is helping out this weekend. Whenever we work with a big event like this, we let our clients know that when they have a big event, we'll be there for them, but in the meantime we have a large event we have to schedule. We're blessed. Our other clients are very excited for us, and they're proud that they're sharing a publicist with the NBA. They're willing to work with us around the schedule."

Small vendors are finding that kind of flexibility is also essential to accommodating the NBA.

Michael Herman, staffing director at Millenium Staffing & Management Services, is overseeing the placement of more than 100 temporary workers for All-Star activities. Millenium is providing several information-technology workers to set up phone and computer lines, as well as 20 administrative assistants and as many as 120 customer-service aides for the All-Star Jam Session. Specific plans can evolve at warp speed, though.

"(The NBA has) placed a certain amount of orders, but that can change," Herman said. "They'll call in advance for 25 people, but they might call the morning of an event and say they actually need 50."

Florist Timi Huskinson also knows the capricious nature of working on a fluid event.

When Huskinson, president of An Octopus's Garden, began chatting with NBA officials about flower arrangements for All-Star events, the possibility of a massive order loomed: The league might request as many as 800 floral centerpieces for a series of big dinners throughout the week. The actual contract was smaller, calling for 10 centerpieces and two larger displays for a hospitality suite in a ballroom at The Venetian.

Huskinson greeted the downsized order with sunny optimism, focusing on the opportunity to work with major-league sports.

"No job is too small or too large," Huskinson said. "We're not disappointed. The large dinners would have been a fabulous opportunity, but we take orders large and small. And we did make it onto the NBA's preferred-vendor list."

The importance of an upbeat attitude isn't the only lesson local companies are taking from their experiences with All-Star 2007.

'A ONE-SHOT DEAL'

Based on her work with the NBA, Huskinson is considering revamping the logistics of negotiating contracts.

Managers of An Octopus's Garden had just one face-to-face meeting with NBA officials in October. The rest of the two parties' discussions occurred via e-mail and conference calls.

"Everything was done electronically, and that's something we'll do more of," Huskinson said.

The move toward high-tech communication could give An Octopus's Garden a broader client base.

Local vendors said they're also learning the importance of developing a web of contacts in the business world.

Barbara Allen heard about the NBA's interest in working with local proprietors through her membership in a trade group -- in Allen's case, the National Association of Women Business Owners. After the business association's area executives put out word that the basketball league wanted local services, Allen filled out an application to work with the organization. Her company, Barbara Allen Photography, is spending this weekend with the NBA's public-relations department, taking snapshots of VIP guests, basketball players and celebrities.

"For me, the NBA contract was a networking thing," Allen said. "I was in the right place at the right time, and they needed the service."

Herlovich, whose small boutique firm landed publicity contracts with Prince's Club 3121 at the Rio and the Palms' Pearl Concert Theater the same day the NBA came calling, said contracts with major operations are often within reach of tiny vendors. Owners of small businesses should aim high.

"Big contracts are not only doable, but sometimes they're doable in a big way," she said.

Making any service deal happen requires homework, though.

After Herlovich received the NBA's request for a proposal, she called league officials and asked them specific questions to gain more clarity about their objectives. The added insight allowed her to craft a bid in line with the NBA's particular promotional ambitions.

"If you want a piece of business, pay attention in the early stages," she said. "Don't just assume you know what they want. Everyone has certain needs and goals. If you can show them exactly how you can meet those goals and needs, you have a good chance at getting a contract."

Signing a big deal is one thing. Serving all the demands of that major service agreement is another. Local small vendors have held up admirably despite the hurdles, Stephens said.

"Some of them have had to scramble," she said. "This is a huge event with international visibility, so it's been a learning experience on how to deal with jobs of that nature. There's no second chance. It's a one-shot deal: You staff up for it, and then it's over. A lot of it is last-minute, and a lot of vendors are working around the clock to fill the NBA's needs. But I've heard no complaints."

LONG-TERM BENEFITS

Perhaps Stephens hasn't fielded any gripes because company owners know the long-term advantages that working as an NBA contractor can confer on a business.

The NBA's Austin said the preferred-vendors guide from each All-Star Weekend is distributed to convention organizers, the league's corporate partners, retired basketball players and other connections who might be interested in the local services the NBA used during its festivities.

Huskinson said she believes the NBA's vendor imprimatur will show other organizations that An Octopus's Garden has a proven track record with a national association.

"That's going to better my business in the long run," she said.

Local business owners also expect that the economic tentacles of All-Star Weekend will reach out to touch broad swaths of the local business community.

Donna Lattanzio, president of Millenium Staffing & Management, said the event would generate substantial revenue and global exposure for Las Vegas.

Her temporary staff members in particular are excited to say their next assignment is to work the NBA All-Star event, she said.

"We're all just excited to be a part of Las Vegas history in the making," she added.

Agreed Herlovich: "To be involved in an event of this magnitude, an event that reaches so many people around the world, is amazing. It's unbelievable. I would have paid for the opportunity if they weren't issuing contracts for it."