Tech Nite is the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council'sannual premier gathering, highlighting the Valley's technology achievement and innovation in 8 award categories. On May 2, 2018 attendees will gather at JMU's Festival Center for Tech Nite 18 to recognize and highlight the successes of technology firms, organizations and programs in the region and the entrepreneurs and innovators behind those successes.
Becoming involved as a Tech Nite sponsor provides an outstanding opportunity for visibility! Attended by the key players in the technology community a Tech Nite sponsorship positions the sponsor's name, logo, and hyperlink (depending on level chosen) as a leader in the area. Choose from several levels of recognition and benefits. All levels include attendance tickets.
Available Tech Nite Sponsorships
Networking Reception Sponsor
Table Sponsor
Dessert Bar Sponsor
Media & Multi-Media
Remember to Vote for the People's Choice Award
Public social media posts that use hashtag
#SVTCPC18 AND the name of the nominee (or company name or organization name). Use the following: Twitter or Instagram (set to public), or a private Facebook Messenger note to "Walter" (
see details). We'll accumulate the votes all thru April, and on May 2, we will display a social wall with all the votes on a big screen.
You added Google Analytics tracking code to your site, and you (occasionally) measure site visitors and pageviews. You know there's more to be done, but you aren't sure what. This two session class will help you better understand Google Analytics, select metrics to measure your site and build a dashboard that tracks your website performance.
Top class takeaways: Understand what Google's metrics and reports mean... and which you should actually pay attention to.
Get best practices for collecting and using website data. Get help turning your business goals into specific, measurable metrics. Use Google's new tool Data Studio to build your own dashboard. This talk will be hands on and questions are welcome!
Prerequisites & Tech Requirements
This class is for people with various levels of technical experience (beginner to advanced) who want to better utilize Google Analytics tools to measure their website's statistics.
Bring a laptop to follow along and experiment during this hands-on workshop.
To get the most out of this course, it is recommended that you get access to Google Analytics for a site that you manage. If you need help adding analytics code to your site, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMpcxyqXXDE
About Your Instructor: Emily Patterson Emily Patterson is the founder of Bee Measure (
http://beemeasure.com/ ), an agency that helps nonprofits use data to create more effective websites and digital marketing. She started the company in 2016 by drawing on her experience at Public Broadcasting Service and Better Business Bureau. Emily believes that data can help organizations of all sizes work smarter and do more with limited budgets. When she's not getting nerdy at work, Emily enjoys the outdoors, reading and sampling Charlottesville's many breweries. Emily is also a PMI-certified Project Management Professional.
Location: JMU Lakeview Hall (JMU XLabs), 298 Port Republic Rd, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.
Gatwick Airport choses ConvergentAI to improve On-Time Departure
Harrisonburg, VA, April 19, 2018. ConvergentAI is pleased to announce that Gatwick Airport has chosen ConvergentAI to help them improve On-Time Departure via our FlightID Predictive Flight Operations solution.
This solution will enable Gatwick to improve On-Time Departure by using on our Swarm Learning & Forecasting engine that continuously analyzes flight and airport activity to accurately predict when flights will ready to depart the gate. Cathal Corcoran (CIO at Gatwick) explains: At present, the ability to accurately predict the off-block time at the time of an aircraft's arrival stands at around 50%. However, working with ConvergentAI, the airport has found that the use of machine learning can increase this accuracy by a further 20%.
FlightID's ability to predict which flights will be late will allow Gatwick to focus their operations team on those flights that need the most help - increasing On Time Departure. Abhi Chacko (Head of IT Commercial & Innovation at Gatwick) adds: "We think you can get about an hour's worth of advantage if you have this prediction done through machine learning. You can then use that hour to recover from the impact of any potential flight delays."
ConvergentAI has been featured in Future Travel Experience where Gatwick discusses their use of Machine Learning to improve on-time departure. (FTE supports the innovation efforts of the most progressive stakeholders in the air transport and travel space.) The article can be found here:
ABOUT: ConvergentAI provides predictive analytic solutions to improve business results. Our solutions are based on Swarm Intelligence; our proprietary AI/ML engine that delivers superior pattern recognition and event prediction on complex, heterogeneous, dynamically changing data. Our solutions deliver results where traditional AI/ML has been limited without complex data science.
Please contact us with questions or to learn more about our Predictive Flight Readiness solution.
Member News: Cadence, Inc. to be Acquired by Kohlberg & Company, LLC
April 17, 2018 (Staunton, VA)
Cadence, Inc. ("Cadence" or the "Company"), a leading provider of complex high-precision components and finished devices for advanced surgical and specialty industrial applications, announced today the signing of a definitive agreement to be acquired by Kohlberg & Company ("Kohlberg"), a leading private equity firm based in Mount Kisco, New York.
Alan Connor, Cadence's President & CEO, will continue to lead the Company and its management team will remain in place. "This transaction is a significant milestone in the history of Cadence and a testament to the outstanding team we have assembled. We are proud of what we have achieved as a team and excited about partnering with Kohlberg and writing the next chapter of the company's history together," said Connor.
Cadence is a leading provider of end-to-end design, engineering, and manufacturing services for its customers across the entire product lifecycle. The Company innovates and manufactures highly engineered metal and plastics subassemblies and finished devices for its customer base of leading medical device and specialty industrial companies across the endoscopy, minimally invasive orthopedics, laparoscopy, robotics, life science, and specialty industrial end-markets worldwide.
Backed by the financial strength of Kohlberg's private equity funds, it is expected that the acquisition will accelerate the expansion of Cadence's capabilities and its ability to serve customers in all of their core locations. "We are excited to be partnering with the team at Cadence," commented Roger Prevot, Operating Partner of Kohlberg. "Since its founding in 1985, the Company has cultivated a leading market position by designing and delivering highly technical solutions for its customers. We look forward to working closely with Cadence to accelerate, enhance, and expand its service offering, while supporting the Company's longstanding commitment to providing exceptional service for each of its customers across all market segments."
Kohlberg plans to maintain current operations, allowing Cadence's long-standing tradition of design, development, and manufacturing excellence to continue unimpeded. "Kohlberg's reputation of investment success within the medical device manufacturing sector as well as its track record of fostering world-class operational performance makes them the ideal partner to help us accelerate Cadence's plans for strategic growth," said Connor.
Piper Jaffray is serving as exclusive financial advisor to Cadence on the transaction. DLA Piper LLP (US) is serving as legal advisor to Cadence. Baird is serving as financial advisor, and Ropes & Gray LLP is serving as legal advisor to Kohlberg in connection with the transaction.
About Kohlberg - Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C. ("Kohlberg") is a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 31-year history, Kohlberg has completed 72 platform investments and approximately 170 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value in excess of $15 billion. For more information, please visit www.kohlberg.com.
About Cadence - Cadence, Inc. is a leading supplier of advanced products, technologies and services to medical device and specialty industrial companies worldwide. Cadence develops solutions-oriented relationships with customers and provides highly technical solutions that enable improved product performance in clearly measurable ways. Cadence employs more than 475 people worldwide with its global headquarters in Staunton, VA. More information on Cadence can be found at www.cadenceinc.com.
Join us at the JMU X-Labs Innovation Summit, featuring over 180 students from six courses and 35 different majors who will display and present their final projects to administrators, industry client partners, family and friends. You are invited to join us to connect with extraordinary students, watch key presentations and explore an open symposium of demonstrations and displays of student solutions.
Additionally FarmBot will be on display at 5pm. If you missed the Fueled Feast event on April 18th, here's your chance to see
JMU X-Labs' newly automated farming system!
The next GO Virginia Region 8 Council meeting will be held
Friday, April 27th, from 10:00 am until noon. The meeting will take place at the
Virginia Horse Center, 487 Maury River Road, Lexington, Virginia 24450, in the Appomattox Mezzanine.
About GO Virginia
The Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board and Fund was approved by the 2016 Virginia General Assembly, and is a business-led, bipartisan initiative that is incentivized and encouraged by the state, however participation is not required of localities. An organizing workgroup made up of staff from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and interested economic development, workforce training, community planning and development, education, and business leaders from around the state met in 2016 to recommend geographic partitioning and Fund guidelines and procedures to the Board. Nine regions were established and each region formed councils that were certified by the Board in March 2017. The Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board is comprised of 24 members with representation from the House and Senate, Gubernatorial appointments, and private sector leadership. In addition to approving GO Virginia regions and certifying regional councils, the Board is responsible for determining project funding.
For additional information about the Virginia Initiative for Growth & Opportunity, please visit
http://govirginia.org.
Most people are familiar with the popular search engine Google. However, there is so much more Google has to offer for personal productivity and business professionals to take advantage of with a Google Apps account. This course looks thoroughly at many of the most productive Google Apps and how tried and true best practices can make a major positive change for you and/or your business. To stay up to date with current events and find credible information via the Web, you'll review Advanced Google Searching, Google News, Alerts, Plus, and Chrome. For improved efficiency and communication you'll closely examine Google Mail and Google Calendar. Online productivity and collaboration for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and more will be fully covered via Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Apps. Come learn how Google can improve your personal, professional, and business productivity! In order to access many of the features discussed in this class, participants are encouraged to set up a free Gmail account (https://accounts.google.com/signup) before coming to class.
The Virginia Cyber Range is calling for proposals for the
1st Annual Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference to be held at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA on August 14-15, 2018. Please submit your proposal information below no later than May 11, 2018.
"INNOVATIVE TEACHING
AND LEARNING IN CYBERSECURITY"
Virginia Cyber Range is specifically seeking proposals that address innovative and practical ways (tips, tools, approaches, or best practices) to increase classroom effectiveness and improve student outcomes in cybersecurity education in high schools, colleges, and universities.
Additionally, they welcome presentations or workshops on how to more effectively teach cybersecurity topics such as:
Cyber ethics & law
Cyber threat hunting
Cyber threat intelligence
Digital forensics
Experiential learning with Capture-The-Flag (CTF)
Mobile device protection
Introductory cybersecurity concepts
Computer networking
Penetration testing
Secure programming
Protecting critical infrastructure
Dealing with or preventing cyber bullying
Safe computing (cyber hygiene)
Social engineering awareness
Presentation formats include 2- or 3- hour interactive workshops or a 45-minute presentation. Rooms will include a screen and projector and wireless networking. Presenters may present from in-room computers connected to the A/V system, or from their own laptops or other devices. If presenting from in-room systems, presenters should provide their slides in PowerPoint format before the conference (details will be provided) and bring a backup copy on removable media. If presenting from their own devices, presenters will have access to HDMI and VGA inputs to the A/V systems. Presenters must provide their own adapters for systems without HDMI or VGA outputs.
Co-Presenter (if applicable): If more than one co-presenter is required for a workshop or presentation, please send an email to
conference@virginiacyberrange.org with details.
Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help others get what they want."
This has never been more true than today. In an increasingly competitive marketplace filled with people willing to do whatever it takes to make a dollar, your business must find a way to break through the noise and make a difference people will remember.
In this workshop, attendees will learn how to build their brand and establish themselves as an authority by first finding ways to help others.
Presenter Evan Pettrey is the founder of
Valley Inbound Marketing. Evan is a serial entrepreneur whose passion for marketing was sparked out of necessity when he invented a baby product after the birth of his daughter. Having invested his savings in the product launch, he was faced with a harsh reality - he'd created an amazing product new parents loved...but nobody knew existed.
Flush out of cash after bringing the product to market, Evan had two choices: fail or learn everything he possibly could about digital marketing and grow this business himself. Since then, he's founded a number of marketing companies in various industries with a single, unifying goal: helping businesses realize their growth and objectives, profitably, while learning and having fun in the process.
Business Smarts Breakfast sessions are held on the 2nd Friday of every month with networking opportunities and guest presentations on a variety of topics.
The series is sponsored by your Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce, and Shenandoah Valley Chapter of SCORE. Refreshments provided by Black Sheep Coffee and Peace, Love, and Little Donuts.
Parking for Business Smarts: You may park in the Ice House lot on Bruce Street without a JMU permit during Business Smarts sessions 7:30-9:45am.
Remote/Online Program | Application Deadline May 12 @ 11:59pm
Satellite Bootcamp is a 12-week remote + online program that takes students through the basics of digital marketing, design, data science, web design, and software engineering. After learning the basics, you'll apply what you learned in a 5-week internship or venture building experience.
The bootcamp is 100% remote and a 10hr/week commitment which allows students to take on another summer job or take summer classes while also learning valuable skills.
Jenzabar is looking for a talented and experienced Software Engineer to join our team of passionate people in designing and developing a high quality, end user focused administrative web application for higher education. This individual should be highly proficient with HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery and have a passion for web development as well as a keen eye for well-designed UX and UI. The Software Engineer should have solid experience with Responsive Web Design techniques to build interfaces which will adapt to the many devices in which our end users will use to access our application. Solid experience with developing .Net MVC web applications and the .Net framework is highly preferred. If you enjoy working in a team environment to develop an application that will not just let users do their work but help them do their work, then please consider joining the Jenzabar team.
The Director of Information Technology is responsible for the design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of all server, network, and computing technology for Lexington City Schools and the City of Lexington. This position also assists with networking and server support at the Rockbridge ECC. The position reports to the Superintendent of Lexington City Schools and the City Manager. Given oversight of the city's varied technology infrastructure, the Director of Information Technology must be self- driven, organized, and possess a keen attention to detail. As primary support for faculty, staff, and students, the Director of Information Technology must also be collaborative and committed to customer service.
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative | Mount Crawford
SVEC is looking for an Application Developer to design, develop, test, and implement software applications and interfaces to meet the needs of the Cooperative. Applicants should visit
www.svec.coop (Your Cooperative > Employment) and print an application, which can then be mailed or delivered to an SVEC office (P.O. Box 236), or emailed to vmichael@svec.coop.
The Shenandoah Valley Technology Council does not endorse the companies, organizations, teams, or events mentioned, or take a stand on any of the articles or notices or events included.
