John Morton, former director, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement and John Fantini Porter, Chief of Staff, Management & Administration, were awarded Federal Small Business Champions of the Year; Chad Sweet, co-founder and CEO of the Chertoff Group received the Market Maven award; Robert V. Jones, CEO, PreSafe Technologies for Small Business Member of the Year; Brian Finch, Dickstein Shapiro for Strategic Partner of the Year; Bill Carroll, Managing Partner StrikeForce Consulting, Strategic Advisor of the Year and TASC Inc. for Mentor of the year.  Read the release.

The 2013 GTSC Holiday Awards honors:

Federal Small Business Champions of the Year Award: John Morton, former Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement & Jonathan Porter, Chief of Staff, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Federal Small Business Champion of the Year is awarded annually to the Federal official(s) who show a distinct commitment and tangible results toward improving the environment and success for small businesses in the Federal homeland and national security market.

Market Maven of the Year Award: Chad C. Sweet, Co-Founder & CEO, The Chertoff Group

Normally presented at the GTSC Anniversary, 2013 year’s Market Maven of the Year Award will be presented at the holiday party. It is presented to an exceptional individual who contributes in a concrete and tangible way to the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of the homeland and national security market. Proven as a thought leader with a belief in increasing individual opportunity, the power of free enterprise and the nurture of innovation to advance and support the homeland and national security mission.

Strategic Partner of the Year Award: Brian E. Finch, Partner, Global Security Practice, Dickstein Shapiro LLP

The Strategic Partner of the Year is awarded annually to the Strategic Partner that demonstrates a clear commitment to GTSC, contributes significantly to the content and substance of the organization and provides GTSC members with counsel, insight and resources to perform exceptionally on behalf of the homeland and national security mission.

Strategic Advisor of the Year Award: Bill Carroll, Senior Partner, Strike Force Consulting

The Strategic Advisor of the Year is awarded annually to the Strategic Advisor who works on behalf of GTSC to increase our capacity, membership and opportunities to bring the innovation, creativity and solutions of small and mid-sized companies to the homeland and national security mission.

Small Business Member of the Year Award: PReSafe Technologies LLC

The award is presented annually to the GTSC Member that exemplifies exceptional quality and ethics for the Federal government, a commitment to GTSC’s small business members and advocacy on behalf of our community.

Mentor of the Year Award: TASC & Mike Kelly, Vice President, Business Development, Civil and Infrastructure Security Group, TASC

Mentor of the Year is awarded annually to the GTSC Mentor who has worked to increase members’ understanding of the homeland and national security market, increased business opportunities for small companies through formal and informal mentoring and engages with GTSC to promote an innovative, robust, fair market for all.

About the Border Patrol Foundation

The Border Patrol Foundation provides resources to the families of the fallen and creates awareness of the escalating risk of those who keep America’s borders safe. These services create a financial bridge through the turbulent time following a family’s loss. The Foundation supports programs improving awareness of United States border security and recognizes community leaders supporting the families of the U.S. Border Patrol. The Foundation’s volunteers have served with the U.S. Border Patrol or are professionals, friends and family committed to the importance of securing America’s borders and dedicate their lives to the same.

Thank You to our Sponsors!

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Thank you to Old Dominion Strategies!

Support and sponsorships of our holiday event are welcome  — please contact us to help make this our best event ever!

Parking & Public Transportation

Parking: There is some on-site and two-hour metered street parking. Parking is also available at GMU.

Metrorail: The Arlington Arts Center is one block south of the Virginia Square-GMU metro station on the Orange line.

Metrobus: Line 24P and ART Line 41 stop directly in front of the AAC.

Entering a new market is a formidable and demanding endeavor, particularly for an emerging business in a recovering economy. It includes building new relationships and alliances and fundamentally understanding how business is conducted in order to be competitive and win business.  As an emerging business, it is crucial to remain efficient and effective during each step.  Our due diligence led us to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) program as an efficient and effective approach for entering the Federal marketplace.

PReSafe Technologies became aware of the SBA 8(a) program through online research, dialogue with colleagues and participation at meetings hosted by the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC). The SBA 8(a) program is well suited for emerging businesses, particularly socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs that aspire to gain a foothold in government contracting.

The SBA 8(a) application process is much more comprehensive (and lengthy) than most state programs with a similar focus on emerging, disadvantaged businesses. PReSafe Technologies found it was well worth the effort because of the significantly greater market opportunity, structured business development (annual reviews, business planning, systematic, evaluations) and executive leadership development opportunities.  Moreover, we believe that demonstrating success in the Federal marketplace may readily lead to increased opportunities in other private sector marketplaces.

PReSafe Technologies recently initiated the SBA 8(a) application process, and we expect that it will take some time before the anticipated successful outcome.  Our aim is to protect global digital assets and support the Federal government’s mission of securing the U.S. homeland. We seek to collaborate and remain optimistic about the opportunity to bring additional innovation, agility and high-quality solutions to the Federal marketplace through the SBA 8(a) certification process.

Learn more about the SBA 8(a) application process here.

Robert V. Jones
President & CEO
PReSafe Technologies LLC

Robert V. Jones is the President & CEO of PReSafe Technologies LLC. PReSafe Technologies LLC is a professional consulting, advisory and solution delivery company dedicated to protecting global digital information assets by identifying and eradicating cybersecurity threats thus enabling companies to do business with confidence in today’s global interconnected electronic marketplace.