Category Archives: Event News Articles

Event News Articles on GovEvents Blog includes editorials directly pertaining to Government & Military Event News.

Unconventional Facts About Conventions: Democratic Convention

Posted on by

We continue our look at interesting facts about conventions past and present. The Democrats are the focus of today's post, with their convention slated for July 25-27 in Philadelphia, PA.

While the Democratic candidates' delegate counts heading into the conventions may not be as close as the Republicans', a nominee still needs to have at least 2,383 delegates out of 4,765 to secure the nomination. What gets a bit complicated is the Democratic Party's use of superdelgates, as they are not bound to align their votes with the outcome of a state's primary or caucus. While this seems counter intuitive to the democratic process, it actually falls in line with what the founding fathers envisioned. The Constitution originally allowed only state legislatures to elect U.S. senators until passage of the 17th Amendment. This was seen as part of our system of checks and balances to protect against votes of the "uneducated masses."  Continue reading →

The Complexities of Government Acquisition

Posted on by

Acquisition-it's a complex topic for the government market. Private sector companies must navigate a complex system to make their solutions and services available to government customers. Federal acquisition professionals are working to ease this process and adapt decades old policies to meet the needs of modern technology buys such as cloud and as-a-service offerings. There are also new mandates and government-wide policies like FITARA that IT and procurement personnel have to understand and comply with.  Add to this the fact that the acquisition workforce is in an incredible state of turnover with older professionals retiring and new ones coming in without the guidance of procurement veterans.[Tweet "Acquisition - it's a complex topic for the government market. #GovEventsBlog"]

The ACQUIRE Conference and Expo that took place in June in Washington, DC was designed to help government agencies create, manage, and run successful programs. The conference program offered federal agency-led training sessions, and government & industry thought leadership panels and keynotes. At the event, the Professional Services Council (PSC) issued their biennial Acquisition Policy Survey that more definitively outlined the challenges detailed above. Some of the findings included: Continue reading →

When Retirement Means Getting a New Job

Posted on by

When people retire from the military it does not always mean their days will be filled with golfing and beach-side living. Many veterans retire in their 30s or 40s leaving a whole second half of their professional lives to figure out. And, many who retire from their military career are not ready to retire from professional service. Our veterans bring a deep level of experience and commitment to the private sector but many struggle to translate what they did in the military to an equally fulfilling and challenging job.[Tweet "Many who retire from their military career are not ready to retire from professional service. #GovEventsBlog"]

Each year, between 240,000 and 360,000 people separate from the military (whether through retirement or completion of duty). To meet this need for guided transition, the DoD has set up a number of organizations to assist veterans in making the transition to civilian careers including Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS). The private sector also has a number of  non-profit organizations such as the NVTC Veterans Employment Initiative and Serving Together. On the for-profit front, there are a host of employment agencies catered to helping vets translate military experience into new careers.[Tweet "Each year, between 240K and 360K people separate from the military. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

Three New DC Metro Meeting Options

Posted on by

With springtime upon us and the rebirth it brings (even as wet as it has been in DC), we've been inspired to look at some new options for meeting spaces in the DC metro area. We looked at the latest openings and decided to highlight the following three locations as they all provided a bit of a break from the norm.[Tweet "3 DC meeting locations that provide a break from the norm. #GovEventsBlog"]

  1. Pennsylvania 6 - this new restaurant opened in the fall and features multiple private dining rooms. Its location near the convention center makes it a great option for break-out sessions and post-event gatherings timed with events and activities at the convention complex. The thoughtfully decorated private rooms provide a change of pace from the austere surroundings of large meeting venues.
  2. Spartan Training and Development Center - this facility specifically designed for meetings and collaboration provides another option for large groups in the popular National Harbor complex. The center has five spacious training rooms, a full range of training and audiovisual equipment, the latest computer equipment and software, wireless technology, and a full kitchen and break area. It is a great set-up for training classes, meetings, workshops, seminars, small conferences, and presentations. The facility was designed with floor to ceiling windows to take advantage of the Potomac River views.
  3. Refraction - this space in Reston is just one example of how co-working spaces are catering to event planners. Refraction and other co-working spaces throughout the metro area are designed to enable collaboration and inspire innovation. Why not harness that spirit for events? Refraction offers dedicated event space and 25 private meeting rooms with the amenities of Reston Town Center right outside the front door.[Tweet "These locations only scratch the surface of what's new to DC-area meeting planners. #GovEventsBlog"]

These locations only scratch the surface of what's new and available to DC-area meeting planners. We'd love to hear your thoughts on newer spots that have captured your interest. Let us know in the comments.

Behind the Curtain: 2016 Federal Forum

Posted on by

FedForumFor this edition of "Behind the Curtain" we're taking a look at the 2016 Federal Forum taking place on June 14 in Washington, D.C. The Federal Forum, sponsored by Brocade and produced by FedScoop, is in its fifth year and provides a unique platform for government and industry to discuss network modernization. The network infrastructure is 20 years old and today's environment demands that data be available anywhere anytime. The network must be able to reach the efficiency and speed needed to support mobility as well as cloud.

This event is focused on defining and discussing the New IP Network that begins with infrastructure upgrades to fabric-based physical networks and evolves to software defined virtual services and advanced methods of control and orchestration.  This network evolution can deliver the rich performance and experience that federal end users, citizens, and war fighters demand.[Tweet "The 2016 Federal Forum is focused on IP network evolutions for #Fed users and beyond. #GovEventsBlog"]

The 1,000 attendees include a mix of government and industry but they all share a focus on the network. Outside of the three government keynotes and a special presentation on Machine Learning, the event is divided into a general session track with numerous government/industry panels and a technical track giving attendees the depth of discussion that applies to their position.

We spoke with Ginger Kessler, Federal Marketing for Brocade, to get a sense of what we can expect from this year's event and see what goes into planning this network-focused event.[Tweet "Brocade's Ginger Kessler provides a look inside the 5th Federal Forum. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →