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Spring is upon us, the chilly weather is almost gone, sunshine and daytime warmth has returned to our valley, people are outside in their yards and gardens, some are hiking/walking/playing in the many regional recreational areas, families are sharing spring break time with their loved ones, and school graduations and traditional summer vacations are just a few weeks ahead of us as I post this quarterly message. Our region was affected like the rest of the world with a slowdown in our economy. Yet, because of important ties to America’s defense community we were not burdened quite as hard as most. More importantly, the current pace of the moves associated with the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) and our increased research and development efforts have been good for our business community and our NDIA Tennessee Valley Chapter Members. That is a good thing for all of us because its bringing new jobs to the region. Your NDIA Tennessee Valley Chapter (NDIA-TVC) Officers and Board of Directors (BOD) has been reacting to the increased tempo in our activities. Much has been done since my January message to you; much more remains to be accomplished. Our 3-Year Strategic Planning Process for Chapter programs, activities, chapter leader development, and chapter financial management is taking hold and giving us a longer systemic focus to our members needs. We are making excellent progress toward achieving our goals and objectives… foremost is to provide our members, individual and corporate, real value through our Chapter programs. On April 29th we will hold our 2010 Annual Awards Banquet in Huntsville – check the NDIA-TVC website for information and registration links. LTG Patrick O’Reilly, Director for the Missile Defense Agency will be our featured speaker. NDIA National President LTG (Ret.) Larry Farrell is also scheduled to attend. At that event we will award many scholarships and fellowships. We will announce awards for the best in leadership, management, and technological achievements, in both Government and Industry categories. And we will culminate the evening with the 2010 John B. Medaris Award to Dr. William “Bill” Craig, Director of the Software Engineering Directorate. Please join us for a great evening and celebration the demonstrations of excellence by our members. On May 24th we plan to hold an NDIA-TVC Members Appreciation event in conjunction with the start of the NDIA National Small Business Conference to be held during May 25th-26th. NDIA-TVC will be the local host for the in Huntsville at the Von Braun Center. Excellent progress is being made in planning and preparations for a great opportunity for small and large businesses to get updates, and mingle with each other to discover new capabilities that each can collaborate for. This will be followed by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Small Business Conference on May 27th. We plan to see many of you there for in an informal after-business hours gathering. . This event will be followed by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Small Business Conference on May 27th. More information is available via links on our website. On June 1st and 2nd we will cosponsor with Boeing the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Symposium her in Huntsville. It will be a gathering limited to about 150 key Defense and Industry members. Check the JIAMD website for more information. On August 16th through 19th the 13th Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference will be held in Huntsville at the VBC. It is shaping up to be even better than last year’s conference. Exhibitor space was sold out very quickly last year, but there is plenty of opportunity for individuals to attend, mix with missile defense people at every level, and hear about the challenges that we as a nation must overcome. Check our website for links to information about it. While we look for and execute professional-development and defense industry information events for our members, we also remain super supporters of our Tennessee Valley community. Our Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics programs continue to expand as we sponsor and/or provide financial assistance to STEM related education activities. We continue to work with other organizations such as the Air, Space and Missile Defense Association as we co-sponsor a myriad of events focused on Kindergarten through Colliege Post - Graduate Programs. We continue to recognize, honor, and support our veterans. We will support the Semper Fi Task Force sponsored Wounded Warriors event scheduled for August, with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Pace as the featured speaker - I hope to see you there! We have supported Honor Flight in the past, and will do so again this year with a Chapter donation for their final flight, scheduled for Sept 11, 2010. And It is because of our veterans, in and out of uniform, that we all can enjoy the freedoms and blessings that are available to us as Americans, freely displaying and honoring our flag with pride, and participating in a democratic process to find the best ways for our nation to defend liberty and freedoms to be what we aspire to be. We are a nation at war with terrorism, and so much of America’s most important resources – our young men and women – are committed to win the fight. Every one of them returns home forever affected by their experiences, emotionally, spiritually, and many times physically. We owe them our respect, our gratitude, and recognition for their sacrifices. I ask that you find a way to employ them in challenging, important, and rewarding work. Several National events have occurred since my last message to you including the announcement of the President’s 2011 budget, the passage of landmark health care reform, and major changes in America’s space exploration and science missions. Additionally, there has been a significant change in America’s stated national deterrence strategy. Those decisions have created tremendous challenges for the defense and space industries, and for all Americans. As rogue and non-state actors improve their access to technology which they could “throw” at us, both in the physical and the electronic information spectrums, only industry can help America be ready with overmatch defensive capabilities in place before they are needed. NDIA stands strong in representing us and carrying our collective message to Congress. Please share your ideas with NDIA headquarters and/or your NDIA-TVC BOD members. Finally, I invite all NDIA members, to reach out and go active in your support to our great Tennessee Valley Chapter. Encourage others to become members and participate in our events; do so as well; membership in NDIA is a bargain, and together we can do so much to enable the defense of our nation, our citizens, and our allies through technological innovation and efficient and effective sustainment of our resources.
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