Showing up is easy. Knowing how to engage-how to build relationships that actually move your career or your company forward in the federal marketplace-is where most people get stuck.
The chapter has always offered the infrastructure: monthly luncheons, Small Business Breakfasts, IT Days, Innovation Showcases, the Emerging Leaders Program. The events are there. The access is there. But access alone doesn't build community. Intentional connection does.
That distinction is what drove the GAME Committee-GovCon Advancement Mentoring & Engagement-and AFCEA NOVA Membership to co-host Playing the Long Game: How To Plug In, Show Up and Stand Out in GovCon on April 20. The goal wasn't to promote a program. It was to listen to members, understand where they're getting stuck and help them see a clearer path through everything the chapter offers.
Live polling surfaced what the community is actually experiencing. Time is the dominant barrier to consistent engagement. Many members show up but aren't sure how to break in. And most haven't had access to the kind of structured mentorship that changes trajectories-though nearly everyone wants it.
The panel reflected the full arc of what's possible when you do engage. Katie Helwig, president of Mild Red LLC, framed it simply: Learn. Participate. Volunteer. Stacy Brown, chapter vice president of membership, brought the institutional perspective. Alec Longarzo, growth director, Defense at Synergy, and chapter executive vice president, spoke to building visibility over time. Col. Evert Hawk, USA (Ret.), of Zscaler, brought a cross-sector lens that reframed what community looks like when military, government and industry are genuinely in the room together.
The conversation confirmed what the chapter already believes: members don't just want events. They want to matter to this community-and they want this community to matter to them.
Learn more and get involved at afceanova.swoogo.com/game. |
