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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 12/17/2020
In December, the chapter hosted its end of year General Membership Meeting online. This event was sponsored by EXETER. The participants enjoyed an informative presentation by Brig. Gen. James T. Iacocca, USA (Ret.), of the Kentucky Regional Development Alliance. The chapter also presented awards to outstanding members and elected the 2021 chapter officers. Gen. Iacocca spoke about the training and employment opportunities his organization, Knox Regional Development Alliance (KRDA), facilitates for the Knox community through Elizabethtown Community Technical College (ECTC), among others. In addition, he discussed the objectives of his organization to advocate for industry to invest in Fort Knox and the surrounding communities. During the awards presentation, Christopher Aycock, chapter vice president of awards, presented awards and certificates to outstanding members. Derek Massey, chapter vice president of programs, received the General George S. Patton Jr. AFCEAN Lea ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 09/12/2020
In September, the chapter hosted its Annual Scholarship Fundraiser Golf Scramble Tournament. This tournament raises funds for Lift Off Scholarships for local outstanding high school seniors who have been accepted to pursue STEM studies in college. This event was hosted at the scenic Lincoln Trail Golf Course in Vine Grove, Kentucky.The chapter would like to express its deep, heartfelt thanks to all of the sponsors, participants and volunteers who came out to support this important community event. Platinum Level Sponsors were: Perspecta, CoreSys, NTT Data Services and Deloitte. The Platinum Level Lunch Sponsor was Exeter. The Gold Level Sponsor was TEKSystems and the Silver Level Sponsor was Segue Technologies. The primary organizer of this event was Derek Massey, vice president of programs. The chapter's executive committee and volunteers worked hard to prepare for the event, ensuring that registration ran smoothly and all players received gift bags along with an opportunit ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 08/01/2020
Greetings fellow AFCEANS,I previously wrote about investing in the future of STEM by providing educational incentives and opportunities to recent high school graduates. AFCEA not only provides scholarships to high school graduates but also awards teacher grants to assist teachers with equipment and supplies in the classroom. Teachers have a lasting impact on students and oftentimes help shape the students' career goals. Ensuring teachers have the equipment and tools needed is imperative to shaping young minds. This year, the chapter awarded one $1,000 teacher grant. The 2020 Gold Vault Chapter Teacher Grant was awarded to Lori Collard, teacher of pre-engineering at John Hardin High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Collard holds a Bachelor of Science in packaging engineering and a Master of Science in manufacturing management. Collard believes any engineering pathway should have a foundation of computer coding and the hardware that makes it happen. She intends to use th ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 08/20/2020
In August, the chapter hosted an online meeting sponsored by Perspecta featuring special guest speaker Jeff Bohling, senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Group at Perspecta. Bohling gave a presentation on the Four Criteria for Cloud Transformation. He recommended that teams should know the application up front, embrace the minimally viable product, pick the right product and make security a priority in the beginning. Following the presentation, Bohling answered questions from the attendees. As senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Group at Perspecta, Bohling directs the successful operation, execution and management of highly innovative, enterprisewide solutions for federal defense agencies. His group supports the mission to keep the country and its citizens safe by delivering solutions to improve software, systems engineering, information technology, training and logistics, and fleet management solutions to key agencies in national ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 08/20/2020
In August, Shamlan Siddiqi, chief technology officer (CTO) of NTT DATA's public sector, presented to the chapter. In his role as CTO, Siddiqi defines and leads the group's technology, advisory and innovation vision and strategy, supporting its efforts to improve agency outcomes through pragmatic innovation and focused services. In his presentation, Data Defined: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Siddiqi stated that we are at a pivotal moment in the development of the data economy, with big changes in regulations, privacy, collection and the public perception of corporate and government behavior. The rules and expectations keep changing. The recent global pandemic has changed opinions and also precipitated the need for security and protection. Citizens have more power than ever before through analytics and artificial intelligence as well as other ways to harness and access data. Government and consumers are forced to grapple with this new reality.Siddiqi shared his insight ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/13/2020
In June, the chapter hosted an event to support its STEM Teacher Grant.This event was a ten-person bowling competition to raise funds for the Chapter's $1,000 STEM Teacher Grant. |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/18/2020
In June, the chapter hosted an online meeting with Jamie Ridgway presenting Docker 101!Jamie Ridgway is currently a project delivery lead supporting the Human Resources Command at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He supports a project with a cloud-ready, container-based replacement for GoArmyEd. With over 20 years of experience, his past projects include technology such as Java EE, service-oriented architecture (SOA), Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud. |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/21/2020
In July, the chapter in partnership with SAIC launched an educational webinar featuring guest speaker SAIC Vice President of Practice Bob Ritchie.At the beginning of the webinar, Chapter President Angela Alexander-Mendoza provided chapter announcements and introduced the Chapter Chairman of the Board, Martin Harbolt. Harbolt announced that in partnership, SAIC and the Gold Vault Chapter provided a $5,000 donation to the Heartland Food Bank in Elizabethown, Kentucky. This action provided 40,000 meals to families and students who were displaced from their jobs and schools due to Covid-19. Harbolt then introduced SAIC Vice President of Practice Bob Ritchie. In this webinar, Ritchie presented an informational session about how cloud-native development can bring application agility and the corresponding benefits of modernizing government legacy applications through a variety of development techniques. Ritchie leads SAIC's software practice and brings a combination ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/23/2020
In July, the chapter hosted an online Young AFCEAN event featuring Kathy White, information technology field veteran and life coach. Those who know White know she is a vibrant, energetic and lovely lady. White is from the local area and is always friendly, smiling, happy and positive. White spoke virtually at the Young AFCEA event about her life experiences. Reaching out and speaking to others whenever she can is something she truly enjoys. 'This gets me excited," she stated. As an example of White's positive energy, recently, a veteran attended one of her events who felt discouraged to the point of almost giving up. After her speech, he approached her and said, "You've given me hope to continue. Thank you." His words touched White and made her happy to know she helped one more person. White spoke about using weaknesses as strong points. People notice when you take the reins and move forward by allowing yourself to build confidence, she explained. ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/05/2020
Given the current worldwide pandemic, STEM has become more relevant than ever. As an organization dedicated to increasing knowledge of STEM, it is imperative to invest in the future. Investing in young people can return huge dividends. Providing educational incentives and opportunities to recent high school graduates not only assists students financially, it also ensures the future of STEM. This year the chapter awarded four students with a $1,500 Lift-Off Scholarship. Every year the applicants get stronger and more impressive. This year was no exception. The average GPA was 3.9, with an average ACT score of 29. Every applicant was a member of the National Honors Society and heavily involved with volunteer work in their community. Despite the intense competition, four applicants rose to the top. The Chapter's 2020 Lift-Off Scholarship award winners are: Trinity Buchanan, Ethan Haley, Nicholas Najar and Naiya Sims. Trinity Buchanan is a graduate of South Oldham ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/25/2020
In April, the chapter hosted a Veterans Appreciation Parade at the Radcliff Veterans Center in Fort Knox, Kentucky, during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine to bring some cheer to the veterans and to let them know they were not alone. Thank you to everyone who joined in to support the parade! The turn-out was great, and there were lots of donations for the veterans to enjoy.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 01/07/2020
The new chapter officers met in January to plan events for 2020 and again in February for an idea generation-session in Kentucky.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/12/2020
In March, the chapter was proud to present guest speaker, former commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs and former Miss America Heather French Henry. What an exciting luncheon we had with the former Miss America, sharing her experience in winning the pageant in 2000. She is an advocate for veterans, and she told of the many possibilities for veterans that others may not be aware of. She also brought her crown and sash to share with everyone and photo opportunities followed. She spoke about working with The Rosemary Clooney Museum, along with being a wife and mother. She is a busy lady. It was such an honor to have her, and it was a great turnout.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 12/12/2019
During the December General Membership Meeting in December, the chapter elected its officers for the coming year, including its first female president, Angela Alexander-Mendoza. The other elected officers are Richard Roda as chapter executive vice president and Michael Tague as chapter treasurer. Karen Barry was also appointed as chapter executive secretary. Chair Martin Harbolt announced that the chapter will be sending care packages to the soldiers. Col. Roberto Castillo, USA, led a line of volunteers who packaged various items such as snacks, books and games, and practical items. Each package also contained a card, thanking the soldier for their service. The chapter briefed its financials, including five $2,000 STEM scholarships given to deserving local area high school graduates. The scholarship committee was recognized with certificates of appreciation. This committee has a tough job, as there are more deserving students than scholarships. The scholarship committee must make di ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 08/29/2019
Seth Martinez, technical subject matter expert and government lead for the Application Security Team, was the chapter guest speaker for the August Women in AFCEA event and did an exceptional job speaking on Security +, Cyber Security and IT. Seth Martinez is originally from Weslaco, Texas. After graduating from high school, he first attended South Texas Community College, McAllen, Texas, and then the University of Texas Pan-American, obtaining a bachelor's in English in 2006. After receiving his degree, he entered into military service for nearly a decade, serving first at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for seven years with the Third Psychological Operations Battalion, then finishing out his service at Fort Knox, Kentucky, with the Third Expeditionary Sustainment Command. In the military he served in roles such as AV technician, VTC technician, satellite communications technician, IMO, first and second tier technical support, concierge technician, and help desk supervisor. After leavin ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/25/2019
In June, the chapter had its second general membership meeting of the year, which was sponsored by Perspecta. The chapter was able to award five students each $2,000 Lift Off Scholarships. Two of the five students were able to attend the event: Langley Williams and Gavin Vice of Central Hardin High School, Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After the scholarships were awarded, Stu Hammer of Perspecta, gave a presentation on the importance of application transformation. As the senior director of the Application Offerings and Advisory Services for Perspecta, Hammer specializes in driving strategic transformation programs for customers with an emphasis on application transformation to cloud, application modernization and Agile/DevOps application programs. Hammer brings more than 34 years of IT and consulting experience as a proven leader and member of executive-level management teams. He partners corporate objectives with strategic technology advances and innovative trends. He has been a frequen ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 05/16/2018
The chapter's first Women in AFCEA event of 2019 was sponsored by Oracle MySQL. The chapter welcomed Kris Lester, federal Defense Department/Intel client executive, Oracle MySQL, and Benjamin Wood, Oracle MySQL field engineer, to speak and discuss MySQL's ability to use NoSQL document storage with JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and its ability to convert between relational structures and the document structures on the fly. Instead of requiring two databases for an application that uses document and relational storage, MySQL can do both. This interactive technical session was led by Wood, and attendees learned about the InnoDB Cluster, JSON/CRUD capabilities and security features and functions of the MySQL Enterprise Edition. Wood also mentioned a database firewall as an additional defense that can be placed on the database to protect against SQL injection attacks without requiring application modifications. In addition to the MySQL presentation, Kathryn Thompson, chapter executiv ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/15/2018
Robotics is said to be the next technological revolution. Many agree that robots have the potential to make a tremendous impact. In April, a presentation from the R.O.C.K.S. Robotics Team was sponsored by TEKsystems. R.O.C.K.S Robotics is a community FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team from Louisville, KY. The team consists of local Louisville, Kentucky-area high school students that design, operate and showcase their robotic creations. In addition to showcasing their robot and its abilities, the students educated the audience on how robots can improve the future and explained how R.O.C.K.S came about and what the team does. The students created finance plans and engineering CAD documents for the designs. It was refreshing to see this amount of ingenuity, creativity and discipline in high school students and hear their future goals. The students were well-prepared for the event, and it was evident that they enjoyed putting on an exhibition. The chapter wishes them luck at the World C ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/14/2019
The chapter would like to thank SAIC for sponsoring the first general membership meeting of 2019 in March. The well-attended meeting featured SAIC subject matter expert, Kuan Collins, who spoke about artificial intelligence (AI) and its importance. She explained what AI is, why it's important, and why the U.S. government must not fall behind other countries in this capability. AI is the way of the future. Other countries such as China are heavily investing in AI, so the U.S. must not be complacent. As AI capabilities evolve, it will support more business processes. Using AI is as relevant and imperative to competitiveness as the previous efforts to automate business processes and back office functions. Governmental support of AI also ensures that the best and brightest minds will consider government service as a career option. |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 10/18/2018
In October, the chapter's Women in AFCEA (WIA) welcomed Kentucky's Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, USAF, to speak to the audience about her passion to encourage and challenge the state to get more girls involved in STEM careers. Kathryn Thompson, chapter vice president for WIA, set the stage by describing the purpose of WIA. It is to promote the growth of AFCEA membership by creating and sustaining a space for women in technology for dialogue and communication, and using these conversations to reignite and inspire women in IT. WIA's goals are to increase AFCEA female membership and to increase participation of women in all areas of AFCEA, including speakers at events, committee membership and award winner recipients at conferences. Lt. Gov. Hampton told the audience of her upbringing in Detroit and several manufacturing jobs that she held as well as her time in the Air Force. She went on to say that 71 percent of all jobs in 2018 require STEM skills, yet only 24 percent of females in the U ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 10/06/2018 On a beautiful early October day at Fort Knox's Lindsey Golf Course-sunny, mild, gently breezy-17 teams gathered for the chapter's annual golf scramble fundraiser. The event raised thousands of dollars to support STEM scholarships for students and teachers; this year alone, the chapter has awarded $10,000 in scholarships. Teams were supported by platinum sponsor Exeter Government Services and gold sponsors TEKsystems, Veeam and Brooksource. Seven teams were donated so that active-duty service members and veterans could participate at no cost. The chapter thanks all sponsors and golfers and hopes to see everyone next year. |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/26/2018
The chapter awarded five Lift Off Scholarships in July to local students beginning their undergraduate studies in STEM. Recipients were Thomas Hutto and Olivia Hamilton, Elizabethtown High School; Brian Knapp, Ballard High School; Keeley Slade, John Hardin High School; and Ekaterina Kovatsenko, South Oldham High School. After the scholarship presentation, guest speaker Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos M. Medina, USA (Ret.), focused on the theme of "direction." Maj. Medina culminated his Army career of more than 32 years in the Personnel Information Systems Directorate of the Human Resources Command at Fort Knox. The chapter thanks event sponsor Perspecta and congratulations the scholarship recipients. |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/19/2018
The chapter's Young AFCEANs hosted guest speaker Col. Mark Scureman, USA (Ret.), West Point graduate, author and leadership trainer, at a July Lunch and Learn event sponsored by Cohns & Associates. The colonel's experience includes leading soldiers in combat, commanding a U.S. Army post, serving in supervisory positions in the civilian world, and writing the management and leadership book, titled "The Boss's Challenge: Manage Well, Lead Well, and Listen." Col. Scureman has conducted leadership seminars throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. His list of clients includes Fortune 500 companies, Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the IRS, the National Park Service, as well as state and local governments. At the event, Martin Harbolt, chapter chairman of the board and regional vice president, highlighted the goal to increase the number of service members in the chapter. For anyone who joins AFCEA during a chapter event, a free membership will be provided to a service member in the ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 05/17/2018
The chapter hosted a luncheon in May featuring a panel of women with diverse backgrounds in technology. Topics included trends and diversity in technology as well as cybersecurity. The event was sponsored by CoreSys Federal. Guests were welcomed by AFCEA Regional Vice President Martin Harbolt, Midwest region, and the panel was moderated by Kathryn Thompson, chapter vice president, Women in AFCEA outreach. Featured panelists were Dawn Yankeelov, founder and executive director of TALK, the Technology Association of Louisville Kentucky, and founder and president of Aspectx; Sheri Donahue, president emeritus of InfraGard National Members Alliance; and Brittany Robinson, graphic designer and owner of NotAnotherBrittany.com. Each woman's choices have led many people to immerse themselves in the growing world of technology. After brief presentations, the panelists participated in a discussion with audience members. All three women were inspiring, and the chapter looks forward to seeing wha ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/19/2018
Britt Dodd of EAB discussed Docker and Docker security at the chapter's April Lunch and Learn event. Developed by Docker Inc. for Linux, Docker performs operating system-level virtualization. Docker uses many features of the Linux kernel to allow independent containers to run within a single Linux instance. Dodd provided many valid points about why organizations should use Docker and covered its security provisions. Dodd once worked for an organization that minimally used virtualization, and now he uses it extensively. With Docker, the scalability of containers alone is enough to make system administrators scream for joy, he said. Differing from VMware, Docker builds its containers per application, allowing scalability at this point. By using Docker, an application is very secure running in its own sandbox. This has many benefits, as applications won't infringe on other applications hosted on the same server. In addition to providing examples of how Docker applies to real-world scen ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/15/2018
The chapter hosted its first general membership meeting of the year in March, sponsored by SAIC, at Fort Knox's Saber & Quill. Maj. Gen. Jason T. Evans, USA, commanding general, U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), was the keynote speaker. The event began with Chapter President Miguel Rivera speaking about chapter goals, including providing scholarships to outstanding local students who intend to study a STEM field in college; providing grants to outstanding STEM teachers; increasing the number of female members, among others; and continuing to provide excellent professional development and networking opportunities. Rivera introduced Gen. Evans, who took the podium and was greeted by the audience with a great round of applause. The general spoke a little about his career and then followed with his excitement to be there. The AFCEA community must recognize its impact on global security and incorporate input from industry and academia, he emphasized. "Our most precious resource is ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/20/2017
Each quarter, the chapter's Young AFCEANS meet and present topics of interest, ranging from technical discussions to investing for retirement. The chapter's March Young AFCEAN event showcased some of the secrets of the API Gateway. A presentation by Jide Aniyikaiye, enterprise solutions architect for DXC Technology, discussed the capabilities of the gateway; practical examples of how the gateway is leveraged today; and concepts and ideas about how it may be used in the future. The event was held at the Saber & Quill, Fort Knox, Kentucky, and provided a light meal and refreshments, as well as some time to meet other people from the U.S. Army Human Resources Command who work in different branches and divisions. This event made it possible for members and guests to identify with others who have a common goal of self-improvement, networking and supporting a great cause. During the event, the chapter gained a new member, and attendees contributed toward the scholarship goal, learned from ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/20/2017
Mike Petrosky, financial adviser, Waddell & Reed, gave a financial strategy presentation during the chapter's Young AFCEAN Lunch and Learn event in July. Petrosky described the monthly cycle of finances as well as the financial cycle in the human lifespan, highlighting pitfalls to be aware of, considerations to make and strategies that can be adopted for success. Successful leadership depends on sound financial planning so it was compelling for members to learn of hidden or unexpected pitfalls and alternatives that they can employ to avoid pain and maintain happiness. An important focus of his presentation was learning to plan for the unexpected. To this end, Petrosky suggested that families should identify their annual and quarterly goals and assess their financial health. On a monthly basis he suggested setting a once or twice per month date to pay the regular recurring monthly expenses. A useful strategy he provided was to have all income deposited to the family savings account a ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/16/2017
The chapter's Women's Outreach Committee hosted its first Women in the Industry (IT) luncheon in June at the HRC Complex at Fort Knox, Kentucky. The luncheon attracted 27 attendees, who came together to network and share their experiences with other women in the information technology field. As part of the Women in AFCEA initiative, Joy Begley, the chapter's women's outreach leader, coordinated this first event, which the chapter plans to hold annually. The program included an interactive activity called Networking Jeopardy. After the team-building activity, Begley shared insights about her experiences in the industry and opened up the floor for other women to share their stories. Several women shared how they began their journey and the great things they are doing in support of the Army. At the end of the conversations, the women discovered how closely bonded they really are, and it was an uplifting experience. Begley thanks Jenifer Spencer, Mandi Septer, Nikki Beatty, Kim Kimbroug ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/08/2017
Coby Holloway, a vice president for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), presented a keynote address to members and their guests at the chapter's June general membership meeting at the Saber & Quill in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Audience members leaned forward to take in Holloway's presentation about hybrid cloud management and security. He covered cloud computing service models, deployment models and essential characteristics. Holloway told the audience that many organizations are moving toward hybrid deployment models because they allow a combination of deployment types to facilitate portability and "cloud bursting." He then described considerations for developing and using hybrid clouds and concluded with the importance of having the right tools and knowledge to manage hybrid environments. Attendees of the event, sponsored by SAIC, also had the opportunity to network with fellow professionals to keep their eyes on emerging technologies and information that can be used ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/16/2017
In March, the chapter hosted its general membership meeting at the Saber & Quill in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The event was sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (now DXC Technology). Attendees were treated to a catered lunch and awards presentations, followed by guest speaker Donald W. Hewatt, director of workload and cloud practice, U.S. Public Sector, DXC Technology. His presentation focused on cloud services. He emphasized that cloud services have grown and continue to evolve along with Defense Department objectives. DXC Technology has a unique line of cloud services that encompass three unique solutions: infrastructure as a service, software as a service and platform as a service. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) provides storage, networks, databases and applications in the cloud. IaaS platforms offer scalable resources that can be adjusted on demand. Being able to scale on demand is a cost-saving model, as consumer demand varies depending on time of year and day. Consumers will ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 12/01/2016
The chapter hosted its December general membership meeting at the Saber & Quill Candlelight Room, Fort Knox, Kentucky. The event was sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton, with Joe Sifer, Booz Allen Hamilton executive vice president and AFCEA International's chairman of the board, as special guest speaker. Sifer began his presentation with a brief synopsis about his career and travels, highlighting his role as the chairman of the board of AFCEA. Sifer spoke about the importance of strengthening the viability of the organization and his goal to maintain at least 5 percent in reserves. He told members that the organization has reached this goal through cost-cutting measures while maintaining service obligations and integrity and balancing priorities. His plans for the organization's continued improvement include encouraging members to interact with leadership as much as possible. Sifer said AFCEA has a strong corporate corps and is on the path to getting back to the basics, focusing on pas ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 11/17/2016
The chapter's September general membership meeting was sponsored by the chapter, CoreSYS Consulting and Red Hat. The event was held at the Gen. George Patton Museum in Fort Knox, Kentucky, and opened with Chapter President Bill Heidenreich sharing announcements with members. During the meeting, members voted to update chapter bylaws to ensure the continued operation of the chapter in the Fort Knox community. Members were informed of the results of the scholarship awards: The Chapter awarded four $1,000 scholarships to local outstanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students and one $1,000 STEM teacher grant. Members were encouraged to nominate colleagues for local and international awards, share chapter benefits with colleagues and invite others to join. The Golf Scramble results were announced and sponsors were recognized. The Golf Scramble included 20 teams (75 individual golfers) and raised $4,500 for the chapter's scholarship program. Members were also ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 08/11/2016
At the Young AFCEAN meeting in August, Bryan Bain, who serves as the change and release manager for United Parcel Service (UPS), presented highlights and lessons learned from his life and career. He successfully transitioned from a non-IT background into IT. "It opened up a whole new world," he said. While Bain's career path is not without conflict, he sees a deeper meaning in his role as an intermediary between different groups. The problems he and his team work to solve impact thousands of people in life and death scenarios, such as ensuring critical medicines are delivered to consumers on time. Chapter President Steven Dalton concluded the event by presenting a certificate to Bain for sharing his presentation.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/20/2016
In July, Chapter Vice President of Scholarships Richard Roda presented during a Lunch and Learn event in which attendees were eligible to receive one continuing education credit. The presentation focused on the implications of using LocalStorage. Roda is a senior technical lead at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and a principal developer of a SiteMinder security integration solution. Roda is a full-stack web application developer with experience in database, Java EE (all tiers) and browser development, as well as application design and architecture. Roda got his start in software development using Extended Color Basic on a Tandy Color computer and has enjoyed programming ever since. The majority of Roda's experience is in harnessing the power of modern computer technology, languages, theory, design and development to provide flexible solutions for a human resources application.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 06/16/2016
The chapter held a general membership meeting in June at the Gen. George Patton Museum in Fort Knox, Kentucky. AFCEA International, the chapter and the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) were sponsors. The guest speaker was Sanjay Sardar, vice president for data science at SAIC. Sardar develops and implements strategy for managing business and operations in advanced analytics, big data engineering and information and knowledge management. Chapter President Bill Heidenreich kicked off the event by welcoming new chapter board members Col. Edward Prem, USA, and Richard Garner. After reviewing chapter business, Heidenreich noted that the chapter is a fun, award-winning organization with a significant purpose: to support professional development and to ensure the education of future service providers. The chapter accomplishes this by offering professional development luncheons, Young AFCEAN events about industry trends, and fundraisers for scholarships that support stu ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 05/18/2016
In May, the chapter held a Young AFCEAN Lunch & Learn event at the Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude Complex. Participants enjoyed a presentation on the history of women in AFCEA. Jenifer Spencer, Women in AFCEA representative, shared a documentary about women working in technical fields going back to 1946. Today, 78 percent of positions in the Army are open to women, and women serve in 95 percent of all Army occupations (active-duty and reserve components) as of 2014. The documentary discussed the six brilliant young women who programmed the first all-electronic computer for the U.S. Army as a part of a secret World War II project. After the documentary, participants could speak with women from the AFCEA chapter, hear lessons learned, how they became involved in IT, and other experiences. Spencer is a Michigan native who now resides in Kentucky and has 15 years of experience developing, designing and planning information technology solutions. She has supported multiple clients across the ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/31/2016
In March, the chapter hosted its first Young AFCEAN event of 2016 at the Saber & Quill. This event featured a presentation by Lee Brandt and was sponsored by Chad Green of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Code PaLOUsa. After almost two decades of writing software professionally, Brandt still continues to learn every day. He has led teams in small and large companies and always manages to keep business needs at the forefront of software development efforts. He speaks internationally about software development from both a technical and business perspective and loves to teach others what he learns. Brandt took an informal approach, using a question-and-answer-style format to deliver information and insights on good Agile, Bad Agile and Agile transformations. Brandt stressed the importance of interaction and stepping outside of silos to achieve timely solutions to problems. He recommended having an Agile manifesto, which encourages involvement and productivity. Throughout his presentation ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/10/2016
In March, the chapter hosted its first General Membership Meeting (GMM) of the year. During the meeting, Chairman Luke Hill informed the membership that the chapter is one of the largest and fastest growing chapters. President Bill Heidenreich reminded the members of the goals for the year which included competing for the Model Chapter Award, Model Young AFCEAN Award, building membership, increasing representation of women, government, and military within the chapter, and awarding scholarships to deserving area students who are pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies. The chapter received the 2015 Model Chapter Award and the Model Young AFCEAN Award. Jenifer Spencer received the Distinguished Young AFCEAN award and was recognized at the West Conference. Jenifer is also a member of the National Women in AFCEA Committee and the Young AFCEAN representative for the Membership Committee. The March GMM was sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and the ke ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 09/19/2015
The chapter's Golf Scramble, organized by Bill Heidenreich, vice president of programs, was a great success. Forty-four golfers and more than a dozen volunteers participated in the September event. The community organized and supported this event that resulted in more than $3,200 in funds raised to support STEM scholarships for outstanding local students. The chapter is extremely grateful to all the sponsors, supporters and volunteers for their efforts in making this event a success. Platinum sponsors were Hewlett-Packard and Science Applications International Corporation, and an anonymous donor sponsored a team in memory of 2015 Chattanooga shooting victims Sgt. Carson Holmquist, USMC; Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith, USN; Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, USMC; Lance Cpl. Squire K. “Skip” Wells, USMC; and Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt, USMC. Gold sponsors were Booz Allen Hamilton, Cohn's and Associates and TEK Systems. Silver sponsors were BrookSource and Technical Consulting Inc. T ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 03/31/2015
This year's chapter theme is "Be an Agent for Impact." In March, the chapter held its first general membership meeting at the Patton Museum. The keynote speaker was Bryan Coapstick, director of mobile innovation at Hewlett Packard. Coapstick took the stage to share his experiences and insights of working in the IT development field. He spoke about his desire to improve the user's experience through digital transformation. Before consumers knew the products existed, he was hard at work developing many of the products we now take for granted. His goal was to make them easier to use while providing more control and more information. Coapstick made the point that innovation occurs at the grassroots, and he stressed that fundamental change occurs with effective user engagement. Having the opportunity to attend an event such as this and to hear the words of wisdom from industry leaders such as Coapstick is one of the many ways the chapter makes an impact for its members and the surroundi ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 02/17/2015 High school seniors are highly encouraged to apply now for the Lift Off Scholarship provided by the chapter. In past four years, the chapter has awarded more than $45,000 in scholarships to deserving students in the Fort Knox and surrounding communities. It is planning a great year in 2015 and will award one or more $1,000 scholarships to high school students who plan to major in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) discipline. Students who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, who reside in Bullitt, Hardin, Meade or Jefferson counties, or are a child of parent who works on Fort Knox, and who will pursue a bachelor's degree in a STEM field, should apply by submitting an application package not later than May 1. Education is one of AFCEA's core values, and our goal is to support the next generation of STEM Leaders. We work towards this goal in a variety of ways: by providing scholarships to students entering college in a STEM discipline; by providing sch ... READ MORE |
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 02/12/2015.jpg)
The AFCEA International West conference was held in San Diego in February. The chapter was in attendance and brought home multiple awards. Mandi Septer attended the conference on behalf of the chapter in order to receive the Distinguished Young AFCEAN Award and while attending also picked up the 2014 Model Chapter of the Year and Model Young AFCEAN Program of the Year awards. Since inception, the chapter has distributed more than $45,000 in scholarships to high school students and future teachers focusing on a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) discipline, and in 2015, the chapter will continue this focus. Applications for Lift Off (high school) scholarships are being accepted now through May 1, and the STEM Teacher Scholarship cycle will kick off in March.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 09/22/2014
During the September general membership meeting, the chapter awarded five $1,000 scholarships to high school students. Winners of the Lift Off Scholarship included Emily Genet, a graduate of John Hardin High School who plans to pursue a degree in pharmacy at Cedarville University; Rebecca Isaacs, a graduate of Faith Homeschool Group who plans to pursue a degree in chemistry at Western Kentucky University; Joshua Newton, a graduate of Central Hardin High School who plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at Western Kentucky University; Benjamin Pinkley, a graduate of Faith Homeschool Group who plans to pursue a degree in chemistry at Union University; and Eileen Thanitanont, a graduate of Jefferson County High School who plans to pursue a degree in biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 09/22/2014
Charles Onstott, vice president and service line manager for SAIC's cybersecurity, cloud computing and data science services, presented a wonderful session to the chapter in September about cybersecurity awareness. The session hit home with the chapter's general membership, who are responsible for maintaining a continuous state of readiness. The examples provided and best practices shared will help members establish and maintain continuous monitoring. The portion of the session regarding the move from the Department of Defense Information Assurance Certification and Accreditation Process to the Department of Defense Information Assurance Risk Management Framework also hit home as many members are key personnel responsible for maintaining day-to-day operations.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/22/2014
Michael Conlin, chief technologist, U.S. Public Sector, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services, presented a fantastic session to the chapter in July regarding the challenges of cloud services. The chapter received very good comments from attendees. "As it relates to his topic on the cloud agenda, I learned that 'best of breed' should scare me, Amazon is covering the market and that 'paving the cow path' is not a very smart approach to stepping into the cloud world if I want to maximize value to my business. Michael took an over-hyped topic through a series of practical discussion points that was refreshing, shed new light and made the crowd laugh, always a bonus!" said one attendee. The chapter thanks all who helped put the event together and special thanks to Conlin for volunteering his time and talent to help the chapter succeed.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/22/2014
In July, Vincent Holloway, vice chairman of the chapter board (r), presented David Minds, solutions specialist, with a corporate membership certificate recognizing Strategic Communications as a member of AFCEA.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 07/22/2014
In July, Vincent Holloway, vice chairman of the chapter board (r), presented Chris Green with a corporate membership certificate recognizing CK Green Incorporated as a member of AFCEA.
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/30/2012
Col. Robert C. Knutson, USA, director, Personnel Information Systems Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, addressed the chapter in April and shared his insights on the state of information technology in the Army at Fort Knox, both now and in the future. Mike Edwards, chapter president, announced that the chapter had established and submitted its goals for the Model Chapter Award and that the chapter had successfully supported the Code PaLOUsa conference for a second year in Louisville, Kentucky, in March. In April, the chapter awarded two $1,000 Lift Off scholarships to two high school students, Emily Carmack and Landon Wilcox, and it presented an ROTC Honor Award to Cadet Mark Elliott at the University of Louisville. Also, the chapter received a $5,000 STEM Teacher Scholarship from Lockheed Martin that the AFCEA Education Foundation matched. Finally, Col. Harry Tunnell, USA, was recognized as an AFCEA Lifetime Member. Cohn and Associates Incorporated ... READ MORE
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FORT KNOX GOLD VAULT CHAPTER - 04/30/2012
The chapter issued two $1,000 Lift Off scholarships in April to two high school seniors planning to major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Emily Carmack demonstrated academic excellence and outstanding leadership ability in nearly every dimension, including taking all advanced placement classes, becoming a scholar athlete and volunteering with groups such as Home of the Innocents and Dare to Care Food Bank. She stated, "I am planning to study chemical engineering or pharmacy because those majors will allow me to combine my favorite subjects with my desire to help people." Landon Wilcox received several awards, including the Distinguished in Mathematics Award, the Governor's Cup Math Award, the Lincoln Trail Youth Salute Leadership Award and First Place in a Lego League Regional Tournament. He states, "With my mathematical passion and a desire to research and create things with my hands, I will join my forces and become a biomedical engineer."
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