TAGITM,

Wow, I can’t believe another year has already flown by. I want to extend my thanks to everyone involved in pulling off the 2022 Annual Conference. This includes the Education Committee, Conference Committee, the TAGITM Board of Directors, all the additional volunteers and, of course, CMP. At times, it seems as if 80% of our yearly efforts go towards the conference. I think it shows in the quality of education, the variety of events and the great time everyone has. I felt as if this year was no exception to that feeling and I was incredibly happy with the overall conference. Sure, we hit record attendance numbers, but it’s about a lot more than just those numbers. Congrats to everyone.

This is where it gets weird, at least for me. I have had several people refer to me as “Mr. President” in the last couple of weeks. I am not used to hearing that. Maybe I get used to it at some point. I still kinda shake my head thinking I am the President of such a great organization. I keep hearing my Dad’s voice in my head: “Lord, help those people!” 😊 All I can say is I don’t really think I can mess this thing up, because CMP and the rest of the Board won’t let me. So again, I say I am very thankful for them. Now I will put the self-deprecation aside.

I am really excited about this year and what we have ahead of us as an organization. I am a HUGE believer in TAGITM and I want to do everything I can to help us move forward with some of our strategic goals and simply finding ways to offer more member benefits and more education to you all. Our Strategic Planning meeting will be coming up really fast, and this is where this year’s Board and Committees really kick things into high gear. We develop the workplan for this year and future years during this two-day meeting. This is where YOU come in. If you have suggestions for us on things to consider during this meeting, please send them my way. I really, really value input from anyone in TAGITM. You never know where the next great idea is going to come from. It can be a new member and it can be a long-term member. There are no bad suggestions. Put your creative thinking caps on and send me something you would like to see TAGITM accomplish in the future. This organization is about all of us, but that means you gotta speak up!

Lastly, this is also the time to put your name in the hat for Committees you would like to serve on, possibly a Committee Chair position if you have served on a Committee in the past, etc. It takes volunteers to run this org and you ARE needed. The time commitment isn’t huge, but you get to have a big impact on the org, you get to have some fun and you get to meet new folks in ways beyond just a quick hello at the Conference. Please consider finding a way to serve. If you are interested, please fill out the form here…https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/349154e99895419e9bd8ebbba9913523 (and yes, that is SmartSheet, but I had nothing to do with this!)

Tony Gonzalez
TAGITM President

GovTech
A federal appeals court has reinstated a Texas law allowing residents to sue social media companies for moderating their content. Industry experts argue that the bill is unconstitutional.

GovTech
The four-year contract with CNSI revolves around the creation of a new system to enroll medical providers in Texas' Medicaid program. The enrollment system has caused frustration among physicians in the past.

GovTech
The attack is the second of its kind to target a state agency in less than a week. On May 8, the state’s court system was targeted by a ransomware attack, which seized control of a portion of the statewide network.

GovLoop
Managed security services can help overtaxed IT professionals in state and local governments contend with growing cyber threats.

StateScoop
Organizations that depend on managed service providers for their IT needs got a wakeup call when international cybersecurity agencies published a joint alert warning of stepped-up aggression by malicious actors targeting those vendors.

CSO Online
The use of personal data from brokers, apps, smartphones, and browsers to identify those seeking an abortion raises new data protection and privacy risks.