2015 Conference Update!

Yes, fellow GMIS members, you read that right – a conference update in December. Why, that’s like Christmas in July! The conference team has been hard at work, so I have quite a bit of details to share with everyone! 

We have already secured two amazing keynotes. On Monday morning, we will open the conference with an inspiring talk entitled "Open Roads Open Minds" by acclaimed photographer Steve Uzzell. Steve uses his awe-inspiring photographs to help people open their minds to creative problem solving and does a great job of bringing his message home to the IT professionals. To close our conference on Wednesday, we will be joined by Ret. Marine Gen. Jefferson "Beak" Howell. Beak will share with us his "Lessons in Leadership," such as "Don’t Argue with an Idiot." Gen. Howell has lead teams both large and small and was the commander of the Johnson Space Center during the tragic Space Shuttle Columbia accident. He will share with us his recipe for leadership in an extremely entertaining way. Both of these gentlemen I have personally seen speak, and you won’t want to miss what they have to share with us!

Accompanying these great keynote speakers will be top-notch peer and vendor-lead presentations. New for this year, a third concurrent breakout session will be offered for more variety of session topics and higher capacity for the education sessions. The breakouts will be divided into three educational tracts (Team Management, Tactical, and Specialty Training). PDUs and Certification classes will also available throughout the week. 

We also have some really fun networking opportunities planned and plenty of time to interact with our great sponsors. On Wednesday night, our Diamond Sponsor, SHI International, will be sponsoring a closing event at Rosecliff Mansion. I want to recognize and thank SHI for being our Diamond Sponsor this year. SHI has yet again shown their significant support for this great event and GMIS as a whole. I wanted to personally thank them for their continued support. If you haven’t done business with SHI yet, check them out at www.shi.com – they are an excellent partner to the public sector. 

Finally, I want to wish the entire GMIS family a happy and stress-free holiday season! In the spirit of the holiday season, the GMIS Board of Directors and conference team has a little gift that hopefully by now you have already had a chance to open – and maybe even you have already taken advantage of it. Through January 31, for a limited number of registrants, our early bird rate will be $199 per person! This is the absolute best training value you can find in the IT public sector. For my fellow CGCIOs, don’t forget that this conference will satisfy an entire year’s worth for CEUs! 

Once again, Happy Holidays and best wishes in the new year to all! Register today, and I’ll see you in Newport as we Navigate the Seas of Technology!