From the Desk of Mark Amtower
I have been in the government market since the early 1980s. During that time I have seen hundreds of people make significant contributions to this market that go largely unsung. I have also seen some garner kudos that were at best undeserved, at worst stolen. While I cannot rectify all that has gone on, I can dedicate a page at this site for some of those who may have been overlooked. Others honored here may not have been overlooked, but have also contributed to something more than their own coffers, something to the community at large or to our collective experience. Many of them continue to do so. I will also occasionally single out organizations deserving or recognition.
This Hall of Fame showcases those people and organizations that have truly made significant contributions to the government market community over a long period of time, or perhaps helped create a significant impact in a short period of time. Some may be retired, but they are not and should not be forgotten. While I may accept suggestions, initially I will be the final voice as to who gets in. Somewhere down the line I may select a small committee to help me with the selection.
The 2005 inductees to the Government Marketing Master Government Market Hall of Fame are....
Lynn Bateman, founder and president, Government Counseling Ltd.
I met Lynn when she was a contributing editor of Government Computer News. She had already established perhaps the most influential consultancy in the government market. Lynn and Terry Miller mentored a generation - perhaps two - of government market professionals. Between them, their seminars were filled with officers and senior managers in many of the companies that were significant players from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Many of those early graduates are still in senior positions throughout the market, and many serve on the Boards of Directors of many companies in our market. Lynn and Terry Miller would cajole, teach and bully people into understanding how the rules were supposed to be read and practiced. I was fortunate enough to have Lynn for a mentor, for which I remain eternally grateful.
The Early 1990s CompUSA Team: Bill Griffin (GM of the Federal team), Jim Connal, Frank Araby, Randy Jacobs, et al, and the ad agency, STG, Inc., Robert Gosselin, President
CompUSA did something no other reseller had done before or since: it became a player in a very short period of time. In a two-year run CompUSA went from $0 to $120 million. This was accomplished by extraordinary coordinated effort that included the advertising and marketing, market innovations that included leveraging the CompUSA store network nationwide, being the first to put shrink-wrap IT training on GSA Schedule and offering classroom training in the stores and more. At one event CompUSA used the first commercial HumVee to attract attention. Unfortunately CompUSA corporate decided to centralize all activities in Texas, and the Bill Griffin-led DC team opted not to move. The CompUSA marketshare rapidly declined after the breakup of this extraordinary team. Though disbanded, several members of the CompUSA team and Bob Gosselin are still active in this market.
Lisa Dezzutti, Market Connections, Inc.
I have known Lisa since the 1980s, when she was a marketing manager for GTSI. In the mid-1990s, Lisa started Market Connections, a research firm focused on the government IT community. Market Connections has produced some of the best marketing research in this market over the past nine years. The Market Connections annual Senior IT Manager Buying study is a "must have" document for anyone selling anything to the Federal government.
The Federal Business Council
Founded in 1976 as the Small Business Product Review Council, in 2006 the Federal Business Council celebrates thirty years as the leading provider of in-agency (tabletop) events. In recent years, FBC has moved into providing government-wide events, like The Federal information Assurance Conference (FIAC) and the Federal Information Security Conference (FISC), working with government groups like the Federal Information Systems Security Educators Association (FISSEA) to produce their annual event, and producing agency specific C-level events in conjunction with specific federal departments and agencies. Over the years, FBC has proven to be a viable and valuable partner to the contractor community producing worthwhile events.
Ginny McCormick, GSA, and the backbone of FGIPC
For the first twenty years or so of the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils, Ginny was the person who held it together with her organizational and planning skills. Ginny was the creator and architect of the Management of Change Conference, which will celebrate its 27th annual presentation in June 2006. Though "only" a mid-level GSA ADTS/FTS staff member in Region 4, Ginny became confidante, friend and counselor to many senior IT executives throughout the national and international IT arena, around whom she crafted the many successful MOC agendas over the years. Ginny was the first Treasurer/Secretary of the FGIPC, back in 1979, and held that position, or one similar, until the mid-1990s. It was Ginny McCormick, more than any other single person, who brought creditability and style to the federation in its formative and early maturing stages. While I never worked with Ginny, everyone who was involved with FGIPC and the IAC in the 1980s and early 1990s certainly benefited form her work.
Terry Miller, founder and president, Government Sales Consultants, Inc.
If Bateman was my mentor, Terry was my eccentric Uncle. Terry is the godfather of the consultants in this market. He founded GSCI in 1972 and quickly became the first major provider of seminars on selling to the government. Lynn Bateman worked with Terry until founding Government Counseling in 1974.. I was lucky enough top co-publish a snail mail newsletter for about three years with Terry in the mid-1990s. The newsletter had more attitude than a room full of politicians vying for headlines, and is the forerunner of The Amtower Report.
Tom Novotny, founder, first editor/publisher of The Bureaucrat (now The Public Manager)
Tom is the only one who is no longer with us, and many do not know of his contribution. The Bureaucrat was started about thirty years ago as a publication by and for the senior executive community in the federal government. It goes to Federal Executive Institute graduates and others in the SES community. I met Tom in the early 1990s when he was with the Congressional Research Services part of the Library of Congress. I met with him occasionally over the years trying to get more companies to advertise in the truly unique quarterly journal. I wish I could have done more to get him an industry audience. But I know he needed no help in the senior executive community, where the career SES world knew the value of this man and the publication.
Jim Ridgell, first president, Federation of Government Information Processing Councils (FGIPC, now the American Council on Technology) and founder and first president of the Industry Advisory Council (IAC).
Prior to founding FGIPC and the IAC, Jim was a senior IRM (read: CIO) in several federal agencies through the 1960s and 1970s. For those who do not know, FGIPC once had 16 active national councils covering all aspects of information technology. The IAC is the industry council of ACT/FGIPC, and it is a forum where industry and government leaders get to collaborate on projects beneficial to Federal agencies and programs.
John Sanders, former publisher, Washington Technology
I met John when he joined Esther Smith to become publisher of Washington Technology. John was - and is - a dynamo, that rare combination of a man with a thousand good ideas who rarely let one fall without executing. He and Esther brought WT to prominence and profitability. John was the originator of the networking breakfast seminar (in by 7:30, out by 9:30), the Tech Almanac (the Who's Who of the Federal Market), TechExpo (a day long table top event at the Sheraton Premier) and many other market innovations. His work with a variety of technology councils nationwide was revolutionary. He is still active in the DC Tech Council, and is involved in starting a new Tech Council in South Carolina.
Esther Smith, founding editor, Washington Technology
I met Esther when she founded Washington Woman magazine, which preceded Washington Technology. Like Wash Tech, Washington Woman was ahead of its time. The difference was Washington Technology became a powerful and profitable industry trade publication, thriving today under the management of PostNewsweek Tech Media. Washington Technology was the first publication to focus on the business of doing business with the government, the industry players who drive this market.
|
