After 10 (amazing) days in Romania, most of the GSF Staff needed to focus on the aftermath of our best Symposium yet. But we saved one staff member for the biggest Army-focused event of the year: our Director of Partner Relations, Steve Jones, was set to take on AUSA 2017.
AUSA takes place in Washington, D.C. every year in the fall. It is a massive event, and it draws a lot of our current (and future) Corporate Partners. Steve went in ready to connect with our 10+ exhibiting Partners (BAE Systems’ territory is visible in the photo to the left), get the latest on Army-focused technology, and spread the GSF love!
The first day of AUSA can be a bit overwhelming. There are not one, but FOUR exhibit halls…and each is big enough to get lost in. We know that by experience…Stu and Chelsea got lost in the aisles of one exhibit hall on the way to a meeting last year. Anyways, Steve took the time on his first day to meet up with Partners both new and old!
After his initial walk of the floor–essential to get your bearings and jump on any early giveaways–Steve stopped by one of our Plank-Holding Small Business Partners: Klas Telecom. The representatives at the booth were kind enough to show Steve their latest, ever-impressive technology–and pose for a photo.
Does a Partner need a booth for a meet up? No way! We also try to connect with our Partners that will be at events like AUSA so we can catch up on the SOF environment and GSF events and opportunities.
A prime example at AUSA was JarMarcus King, Vice President of J&F Alliance Group and one of our newest Small Business Partners. Steve was able to connect with JarMarcus…and even catch an “us-ie.”
Day 2 of AUSA allows for a little more interaction. Once you (and your FitBit) are used to the overwhelming size of the event, you can be more productive and focused.
Steve kicked off Day 2 with a visit to one of our SOF for Life Partners, and the oldest non-profit in the U.S.–AAFMAA. The American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association is one of three tiers of SOF for Life, providing wealth management support. Steve snapped a photo with the crew, grabbed some of their swag (you know he took a mini-football), and moved into some meetings with potential Corporate Partners.
After his meetings, Steve made sure to stop by the booth of a GSF Founding Partner–Textron Systems. There he got a photo with President and CEO of Textron Systems, Lisa Atherton, along with Textron representatives Ryan Evans and Michael Hahn. The photo is a little blurry, but that just shows the high-speeds at which Textron Systems is always moving!
Textron Systems is a powerful company…so Steve moved right over to visit a power-full company. One of our newest, battery-focused Partners was nearby: Bren-Tronics, Inc!
Bren-Tronics has a great, personable, and knowledgeable team. Every time we meet with them for 30 minutes, it easily turns into an hour (or more). Besides the great conversation, they also offer the opportunity for us to speed-charge our phones and devices, easily drained on days like these.
Steve was given a tour of, and a photo-op with, their latest ruggedized, power-focused capabilities–which are already well-utilized within the SOF community. The Bren-Tronics team also offered a brief comparison to the Global SOF Symposium – US, noting that they appreciated the “more intimate” setting of our event to the massive AUSA.
If you’d like to experience one of our events yourself, we have our US-based Symposium coming up in just a few short months! Get more details on how you can participate here:
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