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The Shenandoah Valley Connection top 
March 9,  2018
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Nomination Deadline Approaching - Submit Now! (3/16)
Nominate for the SVTC Class II of Directors (Deadline 3/14)
Hyperledger Composer Playground from March 1st Cryptocurrency Luncheon
Explore More Discovery Museum: STEM-related Weekly Programs
Design + Build for Grades K - 2 (3/7, 3/14, 3/21)
Fluor Engineering Challenge for K-12 Students (deadline 3/16)
Expanding Your Horizons for Middle School Girls (3/17)
GARCC's Business Excellence Awards (3/21)
Code Girls Panel Discussion @ VA Festival of the Book (3/22)
Google Apps: Personal, Professional and Business Productivity (3/27 - 3/28)
Pitch Perfect: Persuading Others to Invest in You (3/29)
Google Analytics & Dashboards (4/21)
Job Opening | Software Engineer, Jenzabar in Harrisonburg
Article Headline
Nomination Deadline Approaching - Submit Now!

Choose a category:
Shentel's Noftsinger Leadership
JMU CISE Community Impact
JMU CoB Innovation in Emerging Business
  JMU CoE & JMU CSM Innovation in K-12 Education
CIT Innovation in Development
 JMU CIS and BSAN  Innovation in Utilization
Serco People's Choice (*)
(* All nominee's will automatically be nominees in this category)
 

Get ready! Nominations are most competitive when they are well coordinated between nominator and nominee, AND when they are accurate and complete. PLUS: self-nominations are welcome (no one knows who nominated whom).  Neither nominee or nominator need to be a member of the SVTC. 
Nomination Season Ends March 16, 2018.

A couple FYIs / changes for 2018:
  1.  Leadership category: ALL NOMINEES in the Leadership category WILL be publicized. (Instead of only the winner.)
  2. People's Choice Award (PCA): In a change from 2017, the PCA winner can also be the winner in a different category. (PS: Special hashtag to be used in voting will be announced in mid-March)

Pick a category and nominate an innovator, educator, or leader today! Take a look at previous SVTC Tech Nite nominees and winners.


 

(*) Thinking of getting your name in front of the biggest tech crowd of the year?  Let us help you position yourself: SVTC Tech Nite sponorships 

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SVTC Board of Directors | Seeking suggestions for Class II  
(Deadline 3/14)
 

Once a year SVTC members vote on who will join its Board of Directors for a 2-year term. On June 30, 2018 the term for our Class 2 of directors expires. In order to prepare an election for a new cohort of directors whose term will start on July 1, 2018,  SVTC members are invited to submit suggestions for who should be considered to serve and be nominated to the slate of candidates. The SVTC Organization and Governance committee will gather suggestions by March 14. (Complete info


Questions? Please email Nicky: [email protected] or call 540.568.7882

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After the Luncheon: Hyperledger Composer Playground

Last Thursday, March 1, Dr. Morgan Benton (JMU CISE)  presented an informative demo on how blockchain technology works. During this demo, Dr. Benton shared an interesting resource, a Hyperledger Composer playground, that allows individuals to "deploy, edit and test business network definitions."  A link to the Hyperledger Composer playground can be found below. We encourage everyone interested to try it out!


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Explore More Discovery Museum: Weekly Programs   



In the Lab on Tuesdays at 4:00 PM

Grab a lab coat, put on your goggles and enter the Merck Science Lab. Each week will feature a different science project designed just for kids. 

Engineer It on Wednesdays at 4:00 PM
Young inventors and engineers will have a chance to integrate all STEM disciplines as they tackle a different design challenge each week. 

Discovery Cart on Saturdays at 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Make sure to keep an eye out for our Discovery Cart! Whether your child loves art, science, or engineering, this cart is packed with fun, learning and surprises! 


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Design + Build for  Grades K - 2 (3/7, 3/14, 3/21)


Wednesdays, March 7, 14, 21 | 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Explore More Discovery Museum
Members: $40.00; Visitors: $50.00

This class is just what hands on young inventors have been looking for. From basic construction to electrical engineering, young makers will hone their skills as they build and create. Details and registration at www.iexploremore.com.


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  Fluor Engineering Challenge for K-12 Students
(deadline 3/16)
 


Entries submitted online by March 16, 2018

Who can enter? 
The 2018 Fluor Engineering Challenge is open to K-12 students around the world. Students can enter individually or as teams of up to four students. Only one entry per team is allowed. 

What do I do? 
Build a device to launch a ball as far as possible, and another device to catch it, all from a limited list of materials like pencils, rubber bands, paper, and tape. The farther you can launch the ball (following the challenge rules) before it touches the ground, and the fewer materials you use, the higher your score. Finish your design and submit your score before the March 16, 2018 deadline to enter the contest. Full details, including the building and launching rules, allowable materials, scoring, and testing can be found in the  Ball Launcher project at Science Buddies.

Where is the challenge happening? 
Students can do this challenge anywhere! The 2018 Fluor Engineering Challenge is designed as a fun hands-on engineering project to do at home, in the classroom, or as part of an afterschool program.

When is the challenge taking place?
Students may build and test their ball launchers anytime now through March 16, 2018. Entries may be submitted February 18, 2018 through March 16, 2018. All entries are due by midnight Pacific Time (GMT-8) on March 16, 2018.

Who is eligible for the $1,000 USD prizes?
To qualify to receive a $1,000 USD prize, an organization must be classified as a U.S. 501(c)3 public charity, a public or private primary or secondary school, or an international nonprofit or non-government charity with a valid registration number. The organization must be located in one of the geographic regions listed above. An organization may enter as many teams in the 2018 Fluor Challenge as they desire. Each entry increases an organization's odds of winning, but an organization may only win a total of one prize.


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 Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) for Middle School Girls 
(3/17)
 


March 17, 2018| 8:15 am - 3:20 pm
Memorial Hall, JMU, Harrisonburg

All participants will receive breakfast and lunch.  
There is no registration fee, but all students and accompanying
adults and teachers must pre-register. 


Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a one-day math and science conference for girls in grades 6-9. The participants engage in exciting, hands-on workshops organized by JMU faculty, attend science presentations and demonstrations, and interact with JMU students who are studying math and science. Parents and teachers are invited to attend EYH with their students.  We plan to offer adult workshops again this year.  Parents and teachers are also welcome to accompany their students to all of their activities.

About EYH
Expanding Your Horizons at James Madison University engages young women in high-quality hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities and small-group interactions with female scientist role models to foster and support the young women's interest in STEM fields, to increase their awareness of opportunities in STEM-related careers, and to empower them to see themselves as future participants in these fields and careers.


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Business Excellence Awards 
(3/21)
 


March 21, 2018 | 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm 
Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, Staunton

The Dinner and Awards Ceremony gives the Chamber an opportunity to recognize outstanding individuals and organizations in the community. The Chamber recognizes and presents an award to the: 
  • Small Business Excellence Award
  • Large Business Excellence Award
  • Woman-Owned Business Excellence Award
  • Non-Profit Excellence Award
  • Young Professional Award
  • Business Leadership Award 
Please note, registration for this event will close promptly on Friday, March 16th at 5pm.

Register for March 21, 2018 Awards Ceremony

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Code Girls Panel Discussion @ VA Festival of the Book (3/22)
 

This panel discussion is sponsored by the  CFA Institute and Women United in Philanthropy and h osted by Charlottesville Women in Tech.

Learn about the hidden history of the thousands of American women recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy to serve as codebreakers from author Liza Mundy and WWII crytographer Dorthy Braden Bruce. The panel discussion, free and open to the public, starts at 6:00pm at the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center.

More information about March 22, 2018 event

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Google Apps: Personal, Professional and Business
Productivity 
(3/27 - 3/28)
 


March 27 - 28, 2018 | 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm 
Most people are familiar with the popular search engine Google. However, there is so much more Google has to offer for personal productivity and business professionals to take advantage of with a Google Apps account. This course looks thoroughly at many of the most productive Google Apps and how tried and true best practices can make a major positive change for you and/or your business.
 
To stay up to date with current events and find credible information via the Web, we'll review Advanced Google Searching, Google News, Alerts, Plus, and Chrome.  For improved efficiency and communication we closely examine Google Mail and Google Calendar.  Online productivity and collaboration for word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and more will be fully covered via Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Apps.  Come learn how Google can improve your personal, professional, and business productivity!
 
In order to access many of the features discussed in this class, participants are encouraged to set up a free Gmail account (https://accounts.google.com/signup) before coming to class.

Register for March 27 - 28, 2018 Class

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March 29, 2018 | 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm 
JMU Carrier Library, Room 301

You have an idea for a business or think you'd be perfect for a position.  How do you successfully pitch yourself or your idea to the stakeholders who can make it a reality?  Please join us for a panel discussion to learn the basics of a networking pitch or business proposal from our expert presenters.  Refreshments will be served at this free event.  All are welcome!

Panelists will include:
Ms. Joyce Krech, Director of the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center
Dr. C.K. Lee, Assistant Professor in JMU Dept. of Management
Ms. Christina C. Roeder, Lecturer in JMU Dept. of Management

* Guest parking will be available on levels 2-7 of the Grace Street Parking Deck. *


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April 21, 2018 | JMU Lakeview Hall 
$36.00   per person (scholarships available)

You added Google Analytics tracking code to your site, and you (occasionally) measure site visitors and pageviews. You know there's more to be done, but you aren't sure what. This two session class will help you better understand Google Analytics, select metrics to measure your site and build a dashboard that tracks your website performance.

Top class takeaways: Understand what Google's metrics and reports mean... and which you should actually pay attention to.

Get best practices for collecting and using website data. Get help turning your business goals into specific, measurable metrics. Use Google's new tool Data Studio to build your own dashboard. This talk will be hands on and questions are welcome!

Prerequisites & Tech Requirements
  • This class is for people with various levels of technical experience (beginner to advanced) who want to better utilize Google Analytics tools to measure their website's statistics.
  • Bring a laptop to follow along and experiment during this hands-on workshop.
  • To get the most out of this course, it is recommended that you get access to Google Analytics for a site that you manage. If you need help adding analytics code to your site, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMpcxyqXXDE
About Your Instructor: Emily Patterson
Emily Patterson is the founder of Bee Measure (  http://beemeasure.com/ ), an agency that helps nonprofits use data to create more effective websites and digital marketing. She started the company in 2016 by drawing on her experience at Public Broadcasting Service and Better Business Bureau. Emily believes that data can help organizations of all sizes work smarter and do more with limited budgets. When she's not getting nerdy at work, Emily enjoys the outdoors, reading and sampling Charlottesville's many breweries. Emily is also a PMI-certified Project Management Professional.

Location: JMU Lakeview Hall (JMU XLabs), 298 Port Republic Rd, Harrisonburg, VA 22807.
Pre-registration is required: 

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Job Opening: Software Engineer

Jenzabar is looking for a talented and experienced Software Engineer to join our team of passionate people in designing and developing a high quality, end user focused administrative web application for higher education. This individual should be highly proficient with HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript/jQuery and have a passion for web development as well as a keen eye for well-designed UX and UI. The Software Engineer should have solid experience with Responsive Web Design techniques to build interfaces which will adapt to the many devices in which our end users will use to access our application. Solid experience with developing .Net MVC web applications and the .Net framework is highly preferred. If you enjoy working in a team environment to develop an application that will not just let users do their work but help them do their work, then please consider joining the Jenzabar team.

 
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Job Opening: Assistant or Associate Professor of Data Science
JMU Co llege of Integrated Science and Engineering| Harrisonburg

The Department of Integrated Science and Technology ( ISAT ) at James
Madison University ( JMU ) invites applications for a tenure-track position
at the rank of Assistant or Associate Professor beginning August, 2018. The Department of Integrated Science and Technology (soon to become the School of Integrated Sciences) is a dynamic, highly interdisciplinary academic unit of 50 faculty with terminal degrees in 39 different fields. Our graduates are innovative problem solvers with strong analytical and teaming skills that enable them to work on complex socio-technical problems facing organizations, communities, and society. Additional information on the department and its individual programs can be found at http://www.isat.jmu.edu.


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Job Opening: 
Director of Information Technology 

Lexington City Schools | Lexington

The Director of Information Technology is responsible for the design, implementation, and ongoing maintenance of all server, network, and computing technology for Lexington City Schools and the City of Lexington. This position also assists with networking and server support at the Rockbridge ECC. The position reports to the Superintendent of Lexington City Schools and the City Manager. Given oversight of the city's varied technology infrastructure, the Director of Information Technology must be self - driven, organized, and possess a keen attention to detail. As primary support for faculty, staff, and students, the Director of Information Technology must also be collaborative and committed to customer service. 


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Job Opening: Part-Time Web Programmer
JMU College of Health and Behavioral Studies| Harrisonburg

James Madison University is seeking a temporary, part-time web programmer to join the Creative Services team. This wage position is a crucial part of a small team serving the College of Health and Behavioral Studies and the College of Integrated Science and Engineering. The Creative Services team is looking for someone who enjoys learning new things, works well independently, and can easily communicate with both technical and non-technical clients.


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Job Opening: 
Electronics Technician
ComSonics| Harrisonburg

ComSonics, Inc, is currently seeking an experienced 2nd shift Electronics Technician in the Harrisonburg, VA facility. This position will be focused in the line repair area.  Qualified candidates should possess:

  • 2+ years of fundamental electronics knowledge with prior experience in troubleshooting and repairing electronics equipment
  • Ability to effectively utilize service manuals, hand tools and test equipment to diagnose and repair electronics equipment
  • Experience using electronic test equipment (Digital Volt Meter, Signal Generator, Network Analyzer)
  • Soldering/desoldering experience required

Pay commensurate with experience.  ComSonics is an established corporation that offers rich employee benefits including medical, dental, vision & life insurance, short & long-term disability and employee ownership plan.  

More information at ComSonics.com

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Job Opening: Application Developer
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative | Mount Crawford

SVEC is looking for an Application Developer to design, develop, test, and implement software applications and interfaces to meet the needs of the Cooperative. Applicants should visit  www.svec.coop  (Your Cooperative > Employment) and print an application, which can then be mailed or delivered to an SVEC office (P.O. Box 236), or emailed to  [email protected] .  

View pdf for more information

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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!

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Shenandoah Valley Technology Council
800 S. Main Street MSC 3615
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
540-568-7882

 

 

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