AFCEAN of the Month, July 2023
Stephen Buck, a retired Army officer and an active AFCEA member since 2016, served as vice president of chapter affairs from 2019 to 2020, with responsibility for overseeing volunteer recognition efforts and serving as the chapter liaison with AFCEA International. In addition to supervising all volunteer awards, Buck coordinated the development of quantifiable metrics and goals to document the board member’s annual achievements. Since 2017, Buck has supported the Northern Virginia Chapter as a key point of contact for inviting and securing U.S. Army senior leadership speakers for the chapter’s luncheons and Army IT Days. Buck previously served as the deputy chair for the Programs Committee.
Buck has served as the chair for AFCEA NOVA’s Army IT Day since 2019. Under his leadership, the event has evolved. He minimized calendar conflicts between AFCEA International and local National Capital Region area chapters and deconflicted the focus and selection of senior-level speakers. Buck created a comprehensive experience reflecting the wide cross-section of topics and panelists, from information technology (IT) operations to cyber to acquisition across all three components (active, National Guard and Army Reserves). He introduced a dual-track format to expand the number of Army presenters offered in a single-day event and confirmed keynotes. The success of the NOVA Chapter’s Army IT Day speaks for itself. Over the past two years, Army IT Day attendance and sponsorships have grown, despite COVID-19 restrictions. Registrations have exceeded 530 since 2020.
Buck significantly increased sponsorship engagement, securing $66,000 from 20 sponsors in 2021 to $88,000 from 26 sponsors in 2022 and more than $100,000 in sponsor commitments from 36 sponsors for 2023 (as of 12/2022). Overall net revenue increased from $124,000 in 2021 to more than $188,000 in 2022, which is especially noteworthy since the 2021 and 2022 IT Days were entirely virtual.
Buck also received the Medal of Merit Award in June 2019 and the SuperNOVA Award in November of 2017.
He currently works for Oracle where he focuses on Department of Defense-wide solutions and strategy.
In recognition of his dedication to the chapter and the association, AFCEA proudly names Stephen Buck as AFCEAN of the Month.
