Author Archives: Kerry Rea President of GovEvents

About Kerry Rea President of GovEvents

Twitter: @Kerry_Rea | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kerryrea/ I am a business and marketing professional with an extensive background in company start-ups. I have 20+ years direct experience in the information technology, government, franchise, and construction industries. Having a passion for business, I love brainstorming, collaborating and strategizing on the best ways to achieve our clients' and partners' business objectives.

Behind the Curtain: International Wireless Communications Expo

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The International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Over the years, IWCE has stayed true to its roots in two-way radio communications, keeping attendees abreast of the evolution of technology from mobile radios to push-to-talk integrated cellphones to today's coordination with IoT devices. But what IWCE is even more excited about is what the next 40 years hold for the communications technology industry.

As the core technology and devices have evolved, the audience at IWCE is increasingly moving toward a more public sector crowd with public safety, utilities, and transportation sectors highly represented. At the show, attendees meet with vendors showcasing the latest technologies, discuss policy, and receive training on new tools, policies, and techniques.[Tweet "Behind the Curtain: International Wireless Communications Expo | March 27-31 #GovEventsBlog #IWCE"]

Show Director, Stephanie McCall, shared some insights into what to expect at this year's show happening March 27-31 in Las Vegas, NV. Continue reading →

Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, Healthy Conference

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Winter is cold and flu season, but it is also prime conference time. This reality sent us looking for tips on how to stay healthy when you are in a confined space with 100 to 1000 of your newest friends. We've pulled together this quick list as a resource for us all.

  • Hand washing and sanitizer - It goes without saying you should frequently wash your hands or at the very least use hand sanitizer. Event planners should consider making hand sanitizer dispensers readily available. Small versions that fit in your pocket should be on your attendee checklist of event must-haves, right below business cards.[Tweet "Tips for staying healthy when attending events. #GovEventsBlog"]
  • Walk - Get outside for fresh air if you can. If not, take laps around the convention center or hotel to get your blood moving and keep you from the prolonged exposure to germs you would get sitting at lobby chairs and tables. You can even schedule meetings while taking your walk. If you are flying to your meeting, health professionals suggest walking the plane aisle once every hour to promote better circulation.
  • Eat well - Eat foods with high nutritional value, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Event planners should look at their menus to make sure these are available to attendees and also consider adding teas and other drinks with Echinacea, ginseng, vitamin C, and probiotics to help bolster the immune system.
  • Pace yourself - Events and conference are notoriously draining--all day sessions followed by all night parties and networking. While it's tempting to try to do it all, make sure you are pacing yourself and listening to your body. Getting quality sleep helps tremendously in your ability to fight off illness.[Tweet "While it's tempting to try to do it all, make sure you are pacing yourself. #GovEventsBlog"]
  • Wear your glasses - If you are flying or even taking a train to your event, switch out your contacts for glasses. With contacts, eyes dry out more easily and that creates a more hospitable breeding ground for germs. Glasses also make it less likely that you will touch your eyes, transferring germs that way.

[Tweet "Winter is cold and flu season, but it is also prime conference time. #GovEventsBlog"]We'd love to hear your tips for combining professional development with immunity development. Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Behind the Curtain: Football’s Biggest Game

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The New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons are preparing for their appearance in football's biggest game so we wanted to make sure our readers were just as prepared to watch it. We've pulled together a little history on the big game.

The first Super Bowl took place in 1967 as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and the AFL. In 1971, when the merger was complete, we saw the first use of Roman numerals in Super Bowl V. The games were given ordinal numbers since the football season spans two calendar years. This year's game, Super Bowl LI, takes place February 5 in Houston, Texas. Lady Gaga will provide the halftime entertainment.[Tweet "A little history on the big game. #GovEventsBlog #Falcons #Patriots #SB51"] Continue reading →

Hacking the Hackers

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While we did not include cybersecurity in our list of key trends for 2017, it is a topic that we know will remain front and center in the government market. 2015 was a year that brought data breaches into the mainstream and the trend continued to escalate in 2016 with Government Technology declaring 2016 the Year of the Hack.

The security issues of the past year were more than just data breaches. The attacks were motivated far beyond black market payments for personal data. They were aimed at disrupting business and government alike--some were even declared acts of terrorism. What makes this even more challenging, is anyone with a mobile device and a bit of know-how can hack just about anything.[Tweet "Anyone with a mobile device and a bit of know-how can hack just about anything. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →

U.S. Presidential Inaugurations – the Past and Present

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Every four years Washington gets to shine as host of one of the most meaningful events for democracies world-wide - the Presidential Inauguration. The first Presidential Inauguration in Washington, DC, took place in 1801 with the swearing in of Thomas Jefferson. After his second inauguration, Jefferson rode on horseback from the Capitol to the President's House "amid music and a spontaneous gathering of mechanics from the nearby Navy Yard." This spontaneous celebration was the birth of the inaugural parade.[Tweet "A superlative look at past Presidential Inaugurations #GovEventsBlog #Inauguration2017"]

Today's inaugurations are, of course, much less impromptu. The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (made up of members of both parties from the House of Representatives and the Senate) and the Presidential Inaugural Committee have been planning the event for months. Planning for building the platform in front of the Capitol takes one year alone. In addition to logistics, these groups must raise funds to cover a portion of the estimated $175 to 200 million price tag for the events. The largest line items in the overall budget are security, transportation, and clean-up efforts.[Tweet "Largest #inauguration expenses are security, transportation, and clean-up. #GovEventsBlog"] Private companies also work to make sure logistics are seamless for this massive event. Verizon announced they will increase their" data network capacity by 500% on January 20th to accommodate the large crowd's bandwidth needs and to ensure first responders are supported. Continue reading →