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April 19,  2019
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TechNite19 | Keynote Announced | Reservations OPEN| PCA Voting Has Started (4/29)
Member News: Comcast Makes Emmy Award-Winning X1 Platform Available to Businesses Nationwide
ValleyTechCon.19 | Save the Date | Call for Speakers (9/25)
Maker City Boot Camps | Harrisonburg (4/20 & 4/27)
JMU X-Labs Innovation Summit | Harrisonburg (4/26)
JMU X-Labs Informational Tours (starting 5/3)
Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference Call for Proposals Now Open (deadline 5/3)
Shenandoah Vally Innovation Coalition Meeting (5/9)
Cyber FastTrack | For College Students (available 4/5 - 5/10)
Welcome Back Level I Member: Net100, Ltd
Welcome Back Level I Member: 4-Virginia | JMU X-Labs
Shenandoah Valley Open Tech Jobs
Rocktown Tech Slack Channel Link
TechNite19 | Keynote Announced!
Reservations OPEN| PCA Voting Has Started (4/29)

On Monday, April 29, we will gather for TechNite19. Get your ticket today!

Announcing 2019 Keynote Speaker: David Hofert
In 2017, autonomous cars were just around the corner. In 2018 autonomy got a bit cooler and more of a silence descended on the space. In 2019 almost everyone talks about 2022 or beyond for autonomous vehicles. So, what happened in just 2 short years? Has Winter arrived, or is this just a cold spell?

Join us on April 29th as David Hofert from Perrone Robotics presents "Winter is Coming: The Game of Autonomous Vehicles."


31 Nominees in 8 Award Categories
Each year we receive a diverse set of nominees. Nominees come from a variety of disciplines - from agriculture to education and everything in-between. We gathered nominations for the 8 award categories between  Feb. 13 - March 13 - and we are delighted to announce our 31 nominees (see below).  




And the nominees are...

 
JMU College of Integrated Science and Engineering (CISE)'s
Innovation in Community Impact Award

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JMU College of Business (COB)'s
Innovation in Emerging Business Award
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JMU College of Education (CoE)'s & JMU College of Science and Mathematics (CSM)'s
Innovation in Education K-12 Award

Cadence's
I nnovation in Higher Education Award

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Center for Innovative Technology (CIT)'s
Innovation in Development Award
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Dynamic Aviation's
Innovation in Utilization Award
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Shentel's
Dr. Noftsinger Leadership Award
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serco
Serco's
People's Choice Award

Who's your favorite for the Serco People's Choice Award? Pick one of these  31 nominees in these 7 categories and then vote for them using #SVTCPC19 on Twitter or a special FB Messenger bot named "Walter" (details below). All nominees have already been evaluated - and the winners have been determined - in each of the 7 other categories. HOWEVER, now YOU can vote for your favorite to receive the People's Choice Award, the 8th category. ALL nominees are candidates, and  anyone (only humans; no bots) can vote for a favorite.

Where to vote:
Public social media posts that use hashtag #SVTCPC19 AND the name of the nominee (or company/organization name) will be counted. You can use either of the two following options:
  • Twitter (set to public)
  • A private Facebook Messenger note to "Walter" (more information below)
We'll accumulate the votes all through April, and on April 29th, we will display a social wall with all the votes on a big screen. The winner will be announced at the end of the event.

When to vote:
Voting has begun! Anyone who is not a bot can vote. Of course, business associates can vote, but family and other fans are also welcome! Voting will continue throughout the month of April and through to the end of the gala on April 29th. Attendees will vote during the event and we will announce the tally/winner at the end.

Voting with the Walter Messanger bot:
Send a direct vote via FB Messenger/ aka the bot "Walter." Anyone who doesn't have a PUBLIC Twitter or Facebook account, or doesn't want to change their account to public, can use "Walter", the Walls.io Facebook Messenger bot. It's easy. Open your Facebook Messenger, and compose a new message to: Talk to Walter (in the TO line). Once that populates, type out your enthusiasm for your nominee and remember the hashtag (e.g. I want [nominee name] to win. She is the best. #SVTCPC19). If you see the suggestion "post to wall," click it.

FYI, "Walter" accepts pictures as well - send the picture first, then follow it up with a message and the hashtag. "Walter" is now active and ready for your votes!

You can find sample voting verbiage on our website at:  https://svtc-va.org/peoples-choice-award/

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Member News: Comcast Makes Emmy Award-Winning
X1 Platform Available to Businesses Nationwide
Comcast  Business Now Offers New Video Service to Bars, Restaurants, Hotels, Gyms and More
   
Features Like Voice Control and Sports App Ideally Suited For Public Viewing
Events Like the NCAA Basketball Tournament
 
PHILADELPHIA -  Comcast Business today announced that millions of bars, restaurants, hotels and gyms now have access to the company's award-winning X1 video platform.  X1 for Business  includes easier search and navigation, voice control and a picture-in-picture, sports content companion called the X1 Sports App that includes team and players profiles, statistics and real-time, game-specific data.
 
The launch of X1 for Business arrives just in time for the NCAA Basketball Tournament, one of the most profitable times of the year for sports bars and restaurants when  fans want to watch multiple games at once and be among friends and co-workers.   According to the American Gaming Association,  70 million college basketball brackets are filled out annually and last year,  first-round coverage  averaged 8.6 million  television viewers, up from 8.2 million in 2017.
 
"Businesses across the country can now offer their customers the same award-winning video experience that millions of people experience every day in their living room," said, Christian Nascimento, Vice President Product and Premise Services, Comcast Business. "X1 for Business is a game-changer - whether it's a bar or restaurant integrating sports stats into the viewing experience, a hotel or gym giving customers an easier way to find what they want to watch or a small business helping their guests pass the time in the lobby or waiting room."
 
Today, about two-thirds of Comcast's residential customers have X1. X1 for Business will offer businesses and their customers:
  • Voice Control: Businesses can use the X1 Voice Remote to quickly search for networks, shows and movies, change the channel, get recommendations, navigate content and more. There are more than 24 million residential voice remotes deployed and there were 8 billion voice searches last year alone.
  • On-Screen Guide: The easy to use on-screen guide and search functionality allows employees to focus on serving customers, and not searching for programming.  A view of the last nine channels makes accessing popular and most-watched content easier than ever.
  • Sports Content: Provide customers with up to the minutes sports updates. The X1 Sports app brings real-time scores and statistics to sports like baseball, football, basketball and NASCAR, alongside the in-game action
  • Accessibility: The X1 talking guide is the industry's first and only voice-enabled television user interface that reads aloud selections like program titles, network and time slots, serving as a solution for TV fans who have a visual disability.
  • Language of Choice: Bicultural customers can quickly change the guide and channel listings from English to Spanish and find Spanish-language and SAP-enabled programming through advanced filtering directly within the experience.
 
"Comcast has the potential to disrupt the nearly $4 billion United States business TV market with X1 for Business," said Greg Ireland, multiscreen video analyst at IDC. "Products and solutions that have generated excellent results on the residential side can help businesses gain an edge in attracting new and returning customers."
 
X1 for Business is now available to businesses across 100 percent of Comcast's footprint. Customers from across industries will begin upgrading their service to enhance experiences such as: in-room, voice-controlled TV watching in hotels; real-time sports stats and content at workout stations in gyms; and intuitive, easy-to-navigate channel options while at the office.
 
Comcast won an  Emmy Award for Technology and Engineering  - the award specifically honors the work of the technology teams that develop the Xfinity  X1 Voice Remote  and the innovative software platform that powers it.  And the company won the prestigious  Red Dot Design Award , which each year recognizes products from around the world that exemplify "outstanding design."
 
To learn more about X1 for Business and Comcast Business's Business TV solutions, please visit:  https://business.comcast.com/learn/tv

About Comcast Business
Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Powered by an advanced network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market; recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.  For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at  http://business.comcast.com/social .

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September, 25 2019
Mark the date in your calendar!

Who is a good speaker for tech topics? The organizers of ValleyTechCon are looking to get suggestions for the 2nd annual conference. Suggest yourself or someone else in 4 categories: 
  • Growing your technology business
  • Technical topic for practitioners
  • Business impact of technology
  • Other
Valley TechCon brings together technology enthusiasts, practitioners, researchers, and business leaders to facilitate idea sharing, collaboration, and innovation. Responses are due April 29th. 

(Brought to you by local partners in business, government,  education, and non-profit, incl. us) 
 

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Boot camps are a great way to get started and to build your Maker City skills. You'll learn more about our specialized work zones and  we'll share information about our Master Maker Badge Program, too. Advance registration required. Free with your membership or admission fee! Children must be 8 years or older to participate.

Sign up for one or all of the following: 

3D Printing Level I (Previously Called 3D Modeling) - Saturday, April 20th | 10 AM - 12 PM
Before you can produce a finished product you must first learn Tinkercad, a 3D modeling program that will allow your ideas to take shape and become something that could eventually be made into a physical object. You must be 8 Years of age or older to take this workshop.

3D Printing Level II - Saturday, April 27th | 10 AM - 12 PM
Learn how the museum's 3-D printers work!  Students will trouble shoot Tinkercad designs and transfer them to the 3-D printer so the computer renderings can be transformed into a physical object. Prerequisite:  Completion of 3-D Printing Level I (previously called 3-D Modeling)


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April 26, 2019 | 3 pm - 6 pm
JMU Lakeview Hall, Harrisonburg
 
JMU X-Labs Innovation Summit - open to college students from the Shenandoah Valley.
Students from all eight courses 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 presentations and explore an open symposium of demonstrations and displays of student solutions.
The 8 Courses
  1.  Augmented/Virtual Reality
  2.  Autonomous Vehicles
  3. Blockchain
  4. Community Innovations
  5. Creativity and Innovation
  6. Hacking for Diplomacy
  7. Internet of Things
  8. Medical Innovations
Parking

Non-JMU Participants
Parking for the summit will be available in lots L and P between 2 pm and 8pm on Friday, April 26th. Parking permits will not be necessary during that time.

Please note that regular enforcement will be in effect in all other parking lots and in lots L and P before and after the time frame listed above. Guests may receive parking citations if parked in restricted lots. Guests are prohibited from parking in specialty spaces such as service vehicle spaces, handicap spaces without proper permits, expired timed spaces and fire lanes.

Please refer to the  JMU campus map for parking locations. You'll find lots L and P in blue near the labeled "Lake Area":  http://www.jmu.edu/parking/_files/parkingmap.pdf

JMU Participants
All regulations for JMU students, faculty and staff will remain in effect, and students attending the event are required to park in appropriate student parking lots with a JMU parking permit.


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Starting May 3, 2019 | 
9:00 am - 10:00 am
JMU X-Labs (@ Lakeview Hall), Harrisonburg


Have you heard of JMU X-Labs and want to learn more? Interested in what the lab offers and how to get involved? JMU X-Labs will offer informational tours once a week on Fridays from 9:00-10:00am during the summer.
Tours include:
  • Overview of JMU X-Labs
  • Descriptions of academic classes offered
  • Explanations about Open Lab
  • Sneak peeks at Pop-Up workshops
Tours will  not include making or using equipment.

Tour registrations will close one week before tour sessions. If you are interested in attending a tour that is less than a week away, or attending a tour with a group of 30+ people, please email  jmuxlabs@jmu.edu.

Register for May 3, 2019 X-Labs Informational tour (or for another Friday tour)
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Submission deadline: May 3, 2019 

The call for proposals is now open for our 2nd Annual Virginia Cybersecurity Education Conference to be held at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA on August 13-14, 2019. 

This year's theme is "Improving Cybersecurity Education at all Levels"

The Virginia Cyber Range is specifically requesting proposals on topics related to enhancing cybersecurity education for students in high schools, colleges, and universities. They invite proposals for the following tracks: 
  1. Cybersecurity instruction: tips, trends & lessons learned
  2. Incorporating hands-on cybersecurity activities
  3. Innovative cybersecurity courseware and cyber-education case studies
  4. Cyber workforce development and credentialing
These proposals should be appropriate for 2- or 3-hour workshops, 40-minute presentations, or 1-hr panel session

The Virginia Cyber Range welcomes proposals from organizations and individuals including employers and practitioners from the public and private sectors, non-profits, educators at K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, research centers, and training and certification providers. Please consider submitting your ideas for a session at the conference.


_____________________________________________________________________________________ 
Shenandoah Vally Innovation Coalition Meeting 
(5/9)
 
  
May 9, 2019 | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
JMU Ice House, Harrisonburg (Room 117)

Meeting Agenda:
3:30 - 3:35 - Welcome (show of hands to identify sectors - business, education, non-profit/gov't)
3:35 - 3:40 - Valley Innovation Roadmap for feedback - Strategic Doing Team
3:40 - 3:45 - Central Shenandoah Valley Cohort - Debbie Irwin
3:45 - 3:50 - SVIC Resources page for entrepreneurial assets in Valley - Mary Lou Bourne
3:50 - 3:55 - Search engine of Virginia resources  for high growth startups - Chiedo
3:55 - 4:00 - Valley Rocket - Cheido  
4:00 - 4:05 - Staunton Innovation Hub update - Peter Denbigh 
4:05 - 4:10 - SVAI update - Keith May
4:10 - 4:20 - SVAI funded company - Hunter Markle & Brett Danielson, BarTrack founders 
4:20 - 4:25 - SVTC Gala April 29 - Nicky Swayne
4:25 - 4:30 - Valley TechCon.19 September 25 - Peirce Macgill
4:30 - 5:00 - Q&A and Feedback
5:00- Adjourn to Pale Fire Brewery to continue conversations!

About SVIC / SVIC Goals
  1. Create a shared understanding of and commitment to innovation for the purpose of healthy social and economic growth.
  2. Improve access to capital for entrepreneurs.
  3. Create a variety of collaborative spaces, resources & events, both physical and virtual.
  4. Build a vibrant, diverse mentoring network.
  5. Develop the capacity to attract, seed and grow new and existing talent and business.
Parking information will be posted soon at  https://svtc-va.org/event/svic-meeting-may2019

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Register/Participate between April 5 - May 10, 2019
 
What is Cyber FastTrack?
Cyber FastTrack is a free and unique three-stage program that will help you discover if you have what it takes to make a difference in cybersecurity.

This all-inclusive program, which starts in April 2019, will provide you with everything you need to build your knowledge of the foundations of cybersecurity. Once you have proven excellence in those foundations, you can move on to master forensics, intrusion detection, security operations, system and network penetration testing and application penetration testing. Designed by world-leaders in the field of cybersecurity, this program provides an unprecedented opportunity for you to fast track your career in cybersecurity!

Delivered online, the program's flexibility means that it can be completed alongside your college courses. It will help you build a foundation of cybersecurity knowledge, skills, and experience that could lead to an exciting future career - and even a scholarship for top students!

What experience do you need?
No experience is required to sign up and give it a shot. People who have never explored cybersecurity say that the Cyber FastTrack challenges opened their eyes to the possibilities and guided them through an exciting journey of discovery as they mastered the skills needed to excel in this exciting field.

Why cybersecurity?
Roles in the cybersecurity industry are now some of the most critical professions in the world, with our hospitals, homes and military all relying on the safety and security of their digital tools. But data and network breaches are happening so often it's now a question of "when," not "if," an organization will face a security challenge.
At the same time, the United States is facing an acute shortage of cybersecurity experts. Cyber FastTrack is helping to address this gap by offering you the chance to pursue an exciting and lucrative profession while building a more secure future for your country.

Win a scholarship
Students who excel in all aspects of the program will be awarded scholarships to advanced cybersecurity courses and industry-respected certifications from the SANS Institute. Students who score well but do not win full scholarships will be included in a drawing for 200 scholarships of $500 each to use at your college.

Registration and more information for Cyber FastTrack can be found at www.cyber-fasttrack.org

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Welcome Back Level I Member!
Net100, Ltd

NET100, Ltd is your one source for network infrastructure, NET100 teams with the cabling industry's leaders to deliver solutions that provide a superior, reliable foundation for your Information Technology requirements. Providing CAT5E, 6, 6A, Fiber Optics, CATV, Outside Plant, Air Blown Fiber, PON, DAS and Data Center solutions. NET100's standards of quality are evident in our dedication to our trained personnel. We have a large number of BICSI registered installers, technicians and RCDD's on staff, as well as DCJS registered personnel for your security cabling needs. We offer the latest testing equipment and complete documentation so you can rest assured once your project is complete. NET100 places a high value on teamwork and communication, our project managers are involved directly with our customers to provide support throughout every project. At NET100 our focus is centered on quality workmanship, a timely installation and building a partnership with each of our clients.
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Welcome Back Level I Member!
4-Virginia | JMU X-Labs

4-VA is a collaborative partnership between six Virginia universities that is powered by 4 initiatives. Our mission is to promote collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner university and improve efficiencies in higher education across the Commonwealth of Virginia. ( http://4-va.org/ )

We carry out this mission by advocating unprecedented partnerships between faculty and departments to generate significant, innovative solutions to educational and real-world problems. Since 4-VA's inception, we've sponsored advancements in research, pilot courses, redesigned courses, shared courses, online programs, industry-focused adult degrees, new technologies, interventions, workshops, conferences and other programs.

The JMU X-Labs are a component of 4-Virginia at JMU and located in JMU's Lakeview Hall. Using emerging technologies, students from different majors work directly with client partners on real problems that resist easy solutions. By working with people from different areas of expertise, students gain unprecedented experience, knowledge and skills in teamwork, leadership and meaningful problem-solving. JMU X-Labs students graduate with critical thinking skills that allow them to contribute immediate value as global citizens and they earn 33% higher salaries than their peers.

 
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join_our_team_sign.jpg
  • Vision Technology Group, Harrisonburg (Tier III Network Engineer)
  • Chiedo Labs, Harrisonburg (two full-time Javascript Developer openings, Back-End Developer, React Developer, Web Development Intern)
  • Jenzabar, Harrisonburg (Software Developer, Senior Software Developer, etc) 
  • Budget Referee, Harrisonburg (Full Stack Developer with front end web development focus)
  • Ryzing Technologies, Staunton (Mechanical Engineer)
GOT ADDITIONAL JOBS THAT SHOULD BE PUBLICIZED ? SEND US A NOTE AND WE'LL PUBLICIZE THEM.
 
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Participate in the local tech conversation: Rocktown Tech (Slack)

Currently there are 18 channels and over 250 members. Please join in! 
Sign-up link:  https://rocktowntech.herokuapp.com/

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SVTC MEMBERS INVITATION: DISPLAY YOUR MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Membership Badge Available 
 
Use our new graphic on your own website (and remember to link back to our website www. svtc-va.org !) 

Choose the graphic file of your choice:

Let us know when you incorporate this graphic and we'll mention your site in return!


Examples:
See how our Level I Members  grep Innovation, LLC displayed our membership badge on their  website!

_____________________________________________________________________________________ 
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.
 

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