Commemorating the Fourth of July has always been very special for me. One aspect is family time – picnicking, swimming, boating and the like. But the real reason we celebrate July 4th is to recognize independence from Great Britain. I’ll always remember in school learning for the first time how John Adams wrote in a letter to his wife Abigail: " ... 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America ... commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

Nominations are now being accepted for the GMIS International Executive Board through Friday, July 17, 2015. Individuals may nominate themselves or another member they feel would be an excellent candidate to serve on the International Board. 

Laura Gonzales had the opportunity in May to represent GMIS International at the KommITs conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, which is a conference focused on school and local government. The conference was focused on digital government.

September 28-October 1
Savannah Marriott Riverfront
Savannah, GA

San Francisco held a City Innovate Summit last month, bringing together city leaders from around the globe to explore ways that technological innovations could solve some of today’s major urban issues. (State Tech)

U.S. Chief Information Officer Tony Scott said his office is developing common application program interfaces, or APIs, to help state and local governments access the information they need from federal agencies. (State Scoop)

What can state and local governments to do protect themselves against cyberthreats? (Government Technology)

IT chiefs react to looming retirements and tech changes. (Government Technology)

The guiding principles of improv comedy could help people in the public sector perform better. (Governing)

Think it’s tough to attract younger IT workers? Imagine what managers in the public sector face? Unable to match private-sector salary packages, state CIOs try to appeal to millennials' commitment to public service and offer flexible work environment to recruit. (CIO)

Rather than poach IT pros away from other industries, many health care systems are developing in-house IT talent in an effort to close the workforce gap. (IT World)

Acknowledging and making the changes necessary to accommodate mobile trends is the job of every public sector leader. (GCN)

With more than 550 companies demonstrating their latest hardware, software and digital content products at this week’s ISTE conference, educators and school technology directors had their work cut out for them assessing what to bring back to the classroom. (State Scoop)