Iowa-Illinois Chapter Newsletter
November 2018
Notes from the Chapter President
Two upcoming Chapter events you should note (discussed later in this Newsletter):

• Visit to Rockwell Collins – 12 March 2019
• 12th Annual Midwest Government Contracting Symposium – 21-23 May 2019

I attended the 2018 NDIA Leadership Conference in Arlington, VA 31 October; my trip notes are shared later in this newsletter with some insights on membership dues changes and NDIA initiatives. The overarching message is collaboration – among Chapters/Divisions with improved communications among the industry and government membership to identify issues and desired solutions to improve our national defense and security.

More frequent newsletters are our attempt to improve Chapter communications. Visit our website often to learn the latest on Chapter activities and actions that go on throughout the year. Join us on Facebook as we try to better leverage that social platform as well. And lastly, offer those suggestions and identify those issues which will make our Chapter more relevant to you and to the NDIA mission. Contact us: [email protected] 

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George B Rivard
President
Rockwell Collins Visit on
12 March, 2019

Rockwell Collins, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will host the next Chapter member event 12 March 2019. This will include an update on the company's wide ranging Defense and Commercial products from tactical radios for the soldier to advanced avionic and display systems for modern aircraft. Rockwell Collins drives its DoD product innovation using the statement “Staying connected and aware - especially in the chaos of an active battlespace - is critical for mission success.” This has led to state of the art products in avionics, communications, displays and controls, electronics, navigation, optronics and more. To learn more about their products go to https://www.rockwellcollins.com/ .

After the visit to Rockwell Collins, a dinner will be held at the Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, home of the Zach Johnson Foundation Classic and where Zach’s Master’s Green Jacket is on display. After the dinner anyone interested may stay for the bimonthly NDIA Board meeting.

As further details become available, they will be posted on our web site and reservations will be taken for the visit and dinner.
12th Annual Midwest Government Contracting Symposium

Mark your calendar. Our 12 th  Annual Midwest Government Contracting Symposium is coming up 21-23 May 2019 at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline, IL.To continuously improve this event, feedback from last year’s attendees as well as solicitation throug h FEDBIZOPS for the latest hot topics for symposium panels will be leveraged. The Advanced Planning Briefing for Industry (APBI) discussions on government’s planned requirements/contracting opportunities will be primarily Q&A focused with the details of the actual forecasted requirements provided attendees in advance of the symposium.

Present plans for the symposium will again also include: government/industry panels addressing areas of major interest to the government/industry community; concurrent classroom sessions  regarding government acquisition initiatives and processes that will be of interest to both large and small businesses; and an opportunity to meet and network with people important to the DoD community. Senior government leadership has already committed to the Symposium and will be available throughout the proceedings.
NDIA Scholarship Application 2019-20

Could your child who will be attending college next year for the first time use an extra $2500? If so now is the time to check out requirements for the NDIA scholarships. 

Application submissions are not due until April 13, 2019; however, students must begin now to complete requirements for the application. The most immediate requirement is to take either the American College Test (ACT) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) no later than the December test date. 

In the last nine years, the Chapter has awarded $154,000 in scholarships to outstanding students – both academically and in the community. This year we awarded four $2,000 NDIA scholarship, four $2,000 SGT Paul Fisher scholarship, and a $2,000 STEM scholarship. Due to the rising cost of education the Chapter is raising each scholarship award in 2019 to $2,500.
To see more details on the application and the list of the 2018 scholarship winners, visit the Chapter web site. Read about previous awardees here .
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Visit
As part of the Chapter’s goal to increase visibility and communication with our membership, we held our Board of Director’s meeting in Burlington, IA. The meeting was preceded by a plant tour at Iowa AAP. Ms. Tammy Dean, a Chapter Director and Manager, Business Development, for American Ordnance (AO), LLC, the operating contractor for this Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated (GOCO) facility, orchestrated our visit as well as being our tour guide.
The tour included the 40mm cartridge line as well as the propelling charges for mortars. Ms. Dean provided various other current and historical insights as we traveled within a small portion of the more than 19,000 acres that the AAP occupies. A short history of the facility is provided here .
Chapter Support for Our Veterans

As part of its support for veterans our Chapter provided a $1000 donation to Healing on the Fly (HOTF). The HOTF organization provides a multitude of opportunities and a continuous schedule of events and offerings that are so critical to veterans reconnecting with the civilian world and especially those suffering from PTSD. This network of support is available to all of the veterans in the greater Quad Cities and provides a 'one stop shop' for volunteers, for non-profits and most importantly for veterans! HOTF, in turn, donated that amount to “Deafinitely Dogs”. “Deafinitely Dogs” provides service dogs that are trained to help both veteran and non-veteran people diagnosed with PTSD, as well as other conditions where these dogs can be specially trained to assist.

One example of support provided by “Deafinitely Dogs” is Axel. Axel is a husband, father of two children, and a veteran who served three tours of active duty in Afghanistan and Haiti. He also suffers from PTSD. He was partnered with Tucker, a Brittany, to help with his symptoms. Axel is grateful for the flexibility and accommodation that he experienced as he worked together with Deafinitely Dogs!
2018 NDIA Leadership Conference

This year’s conference was held 31 October in Arlington, VA. It brought together Chapter Presidents and Division Chairs to hear and be heard about the NDIA strategic initiatives. Two key items of interest to members were discussed:
(1) NDIA’s upcoming 100th Anniversary;
(2) A rate increase in dues but maintenance of a free rate for government employees and military.

Complete proceeding may be found here . The membership’s dues changes are discussed on Chart 14 of the “Advancing the Mission” section.

NDIA is celebrating its 100 year anniversary in 2019, and is developing a robust campaign to celebrate and publicize its achievements. The campaign will culminate with the Next100 forum in early 2020; the event is designed to examine the next 100 years in national security.

Chapter Workshops were held and shared issues of Chapters were discussed. Top issues were Succession Planning, Event collaboration, and financials. Regarding succession planning, it’s not a plan that is the big issue – its volunteers to step up and take a greater leadership role in our and other’s Chapters. The size and financial situations of the Chapters vary significantly and drives their methods of operations. While certainly not one of the numerically big, financially strong chapters, we are holding our own with the operating budget we maintain. Within our financial abilities, we are strong in our scholarships, STEM support, donations, website operations, and military community involvement.

The take away for our Chapter is that many of the issues we locally struggle with are the same issues other Chapter’s also struggle. Collectively and collaboratively we can overcome.
Franks n’ Fridays

The Chapter continues its sponsorship of Frank n’ Fridays, an IL USO Community Connection Program offered by USO-Rock Island Center. USO of Illinois’ Frank n’ Fridays program is for active duty, guard and reserve military and their families serving on or around the Rock Island Arsenal as well as military retirees. With the support of sponsors like our Chapter, free meals of franks with condiments and chips/salads/deserts are served for lunch at the Rock Island Center once a week on Fridays.

Our donation is part of our community support to our military. We have traditionally hosted 4 events/per year. Our fourth FY2018 hosted luncheon will be 11 January 2019. Our approved budget for FY2019 continues this level of event support. 
In Closing...

We need members to become more active in our Chapter operations as well as in NDIA specifically. Once again, we need your suggestions and inputs. Also encourage your associates and friends to consider membership. Membership rates remain a great value. And NDIA still offers F-R-E-E membership to government employees and active duty military. Have them (you too!) go to the updated and totally new NDIA website and check out the great articles and opinions on varied and current national defense issues. NDIA offers the platform where our collective voices and ideas can shape the future and improve our national security.
 
Be Heard.

//gbr//
George B Rivard
President
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