Stephen Pawlowski, an Intel senior fellow, will be the keynote speaker at Lockheed Martin’s 12th Annual Information Technology Day.
This year’s event, called “The Power of Information,” will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 9 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.
Dana Jensen, Lockheed Martin’s director of creative and strategic services, said IT Day is an entertaining and educational event designed to increase IT business and training throughout the community.
IT Day is free for participants, but there is a $15 charge for those who would like to attend the luncheon, during which Pawlowski will speak.
Jensen said because of the growth of the event and demand from vendors organizers have added two more rooms of exhibits within the Convention Center.
“We are expecting 70 – 75 vendors,” Jensen said.
The event will include educational sessions throughout the day, covering topics including communications, energy, green technology, network solutions, small business and cyber security.
Confirmed speakers include: Abel Cruz, principal program manager lead for Microsoft, who will talk about cloud computing and how Microsoft IT uses the cloud to solve many large issues, setting trends in the industry; Ben Ellison, CIO, Department of Energy Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection, who will talk about cloud computing and allowing employees to bring their own favorite device, like iPads or personal laptops, to the office to work on; and Rick Dunn, director of engineering for Benton PUD, who will talk about the Smart Grid.
“We are also hoping to bring back Sprockit, the robot — he was very popular last year,” said Jensen.
Sprockit was especially popular among the myriad students that attend the event, she said.
Jensen said she has been involved in every IT Day since the event’s inception.
“The first one was at the Pasco Red Lion,” she said. “We had about 25 vendors and 500-600 people attended that event.”
This year, Jensen is expecting a crowd of more than 2,000 people to attend, from IT enthusiasts, to business owners, to students.
“Local schools bring busloads of kids over and it’s great, especially for those that are pursuing careers in science and technology,” she said. “They bring a really positive energy to the event.”
The success and popularity of IT Day in the Tri-Cities has prompted Lockheed Martin to expand the event to other areas where the company has a strong foothold.
“We just held our fourth annual IT Day in Jackson, Miss., and it has grown and gained a lot of traction there,” said Jensen.
And Lockheed Martin has done similar, scaled down versions in Houston, Texas and Sydney, Australia.
Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and does research, design, development, manufacturing and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. Lockheed Martin is the largest provider of IT services, systems integration and training to the U.S. government.
Jensen said the doors to IT Day will open for registration at 8 a.m. with a kick-off at 9 a.m. in the Great Hall. There will be several morning plenary sessions, followed by lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Afternoon plenary sessions will be from 2 – 4 p.m.
Those who would like to attend the luncheon should register as soon as possible, Jensen said.
“About half of the luncheon tickets are already sold,” she said.
Registration information is available online at www.itday.org. For more information, call 1-877-444-5674 or email IT-Day@rl.gov.
by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
