Air Force IT summit brings more than 4,000 people to Montgomery
More than 4,000 people came into Montgomery the final week of August for the 2023 Department of the Air Force IT and Cyberpower Education and Training Event, an event that the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce's military liaison is calling a success and a source of pride for the city.
Tech leaders and military minds gathered Aug. 28-30, filling Montgomery hotels, eateries and bars for their stay. The conference has been meeting in Montgomery for more than two decades. “The big thing to me is the city is very proud to have them here," said Scott Rizer, the chief officer for military affairs at the chamber.
Rizer said planning the conference took great amounts of coordination between the Air Force and city officials as well as the chamber.
“We’ve got nothing but awesome great feedback from everybody, but it didn’t come easy," Rizer said.
The city organized shuttles for the participants and transformed the train station into a food truck hub. Officials also placed QR codes throughout downtown to help people with directions.
The conference had both break-out sessions and keynote speakers. There were more than 400 break-out sessions and more than 200 vendors at the conference.
Among the senior military and government civilian leaders speaking were Venice Goodwine, chief information officer in the Department of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of the Defense Information Network.
Lecturers included industry leaders such as Jen Sovada, president of SandboxAQ’s global public sector, and Jason Zander, vice president of strategic missions and technologies division for Microsoft.
Rizer said that the conference leads to innovation among members of the Air Force.
“It’s ironic. (For) the very people who make our electronic systems, the best way for them to learn best practices and consider what’s going to happen in the future and how to make it real is by coming together. So to me that’s the impact. ... Getting a bunch of likeminded people together who might not ordinarily have many opportunities to talk, to engage," Rizer said.
"You never know what happens when people get together. Everybody gets surprised. Everybody learns something that they didn’t know, which leads to another 'ah ha' moment."
More: Hydration for Sanitation Workers Montgomery district creates cooling stations for sanitation workers
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Air Force IT summit brings more than 4,000 people to Montgomery
