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The chapter's Small Business Committee hosted an education event on multiple-award contracts (MACs) and GSA Schedules – Winning and Benefits, on February 3. Attendees were able to learn about the latest on MACs and governmentwide acquisition contracts (GWACs) from a government/industry panel providing their insights in this growing area for small businesses. The outstanding line-up of presenters included Harrison Smith, Office of Procurement Operations, Courtney Fairchild, president, Global Services and Matthew Hummer, director of analytics and professional services at Govini.

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The chapter hosted an unprecedented cross-service event focused on small business. Victor Gavin, the Navy's program executive officer (PEO) for Enterprise Information Systems (EIS); Terry Watson, the Army's deputy PEO EIS; Herbert Hunter, chief Enterprise Services Division for the Air Force's PEO Business Enterprise Systems; and their program managers delivered insights about small business opportunities at their organizations. An instructional Shark Tank-themed presentation and three afternoon tracks enabled small businesses to engage one on one with program managers from each of the services, participate in matchmaking with large prime contractors that support each PEO, and hear from Small Business Program leaders with the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Air Force and Navy PEOs.

In September, the chapter hosted its 8th Annual Joint Warfighter IT Day. The content-rich day kicked off with a keynote address from Adm. Michelle Howard, USN, vice chief of naval operations, followed by a presentation from Janice Gover-Jones, chief information officer, Defense Intelligence Agency. Maj. Gen. Sarah Zabel, USAF, vice director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), then engagingly took to the podium to speak in detail about getting smart with DISA’s pricing model as it relates to cost transparency, control and contracting efforts.

The chapter's focus on supporting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiatives continues to have great results. This fall, as part of its Adopt-a-School program, the chapter provided local schools with funding, resources and personnel to improve hands-on scientific education. South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, was one of those schools and used its grant to promote the rocketry club headed by physics teacher David Azzam. One of the students participating in the rocketry club, Mark Wolter, recently won first place in the physics astronomy category of the South Lakes High School science fair with his entry that examines the effects of shock cord length on rocket decent rate. Wolter will now advance on to the regional competition.