Initiatives magazine, October 2012

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Thanks to Our Investors Huntsville Regional Economic Growth Initiative

Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

Development Partner ($200,000+ annually)

City of Huntsville Development Council ($120,000+ annually)

Huntsville Utilities Chairman’s Council ($75,000+ annually)

Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. President’s Circle

($50,000+ annually)

Huntsville Hospital Port of Huntsville Regions Bank Tennessee Valley Authority Leadership Forum ($25,000+ annually) ADTRAN, Inc. BBVA Compass Bank The Boeing Company City of Madison Emerson Network Power - Avocent The Huntsville Times Lockheed Martin Corporation Madison County Commission Redstone Federal Credit Union Verizon Wireless

Executive Council ($15,000+ annually)

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AT&T BB&T CINRAM, Inc. Crestwood Medical Center Intergraph Corporation North Alabama Multiple Listing Service Northrop Grumman Corporation PARSONS Qualitest Pharmaceuticals Science and Engineering Services, LLC Wyle CAS Group WEUP / Hundley Batts & Associates

October 2012 Initiatives

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Chamber Trustees ($10,000+ annually) AEgis Technologies Group Aerojet Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc. Dynetics, Inc. First Commercial Bank Jerry Damson, Inc. L-3 Communications Corporation – Huntsville Operations Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Inc.

Progress Partners

Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne, P.C. Look Outdoor Advertising, Inc. Navistar Diesel of Alabama, LLC Raytheon Company S3 SAIC SportsMed Orthopaedic Spine & Surgery Center Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc. Wells Fargo Bank

($5,000+ annually)

Ability Plus Analytical Services, Inc. A-P-T Research, Inc. Available Plastics BAE Systems Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Inc. Baron Services, Inc. BASF Catalysts, LLC Beason & Nalley, Inc. The Bentley Automotive Group Bill Penney Toyota-Mitsubishi BlueCreek Investment Partners Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Cadence Bank Clearview Cancer Institute Coates Transportation Group Coldwell Banker Commercial McLain Real Estate Colonial Properties Trust Connected Logistics Consolidated Construction Company Cook’s Pest Control Davidson Technologies, Inc. ERC, Inc.

Holiday Inn – Downtown Huntsville-Madison County Builders Association iBERIABANK Intuitive Research & Technology Corporation J. Smith Lanier & Co. Landers McLarty Corporation LogiCore MTS, Inc. The Orthopaedic Center Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc. Progress Bank QinetiQ North America Radiance Technologies, Inc. Rosie’s Restaurants, Inc., & Right Way Restaurants, Inc. (DBA Steak Out) Strata-G Torch Technologies Turner URS U.S. Space & Rocket Center WAFF-TV Wilmer & Lee, P.A. Yellow Book USA

Progress Investors ($2,500+ annually) Alpha Beta Technologies, Inc. Amanda Howard Real Estate Anglin Reichmann Snellgrove & Armstrong, PC Averbuch Realty Co. Inc. / Averbuch Enterprises Aviagen, Inc. Bama Jammer, Inc. BancorpSouth Brown Precision, Inc. Bryant Bank CB&S Bank Century Automotive CFD Research Corporation Chapman Sisson Architects, Inc. Coast Personnel Services deciBel Research Decisive Analytics Corporation Decosimo Certified Public Accountants DESE Research, Inc. Digium, Inc. Ducommun Miltec First Financial Group Wealth Management Fite Building Company, Inc. Foreign Language Services, Inc. Fountain, Parker, Harbarger & Associates, LLC 4SITE, Inc. GATR Technologies Gray Research, Inc. Halsey Foodservice The HDC, LLC HEMSI Hiley Cars Huntsville Huntsville Botanical Garden

Huntsville Tractor & Equipment, Inc. Investor’s Resource/Raymond James Financial Services KPS Group Kudzu Productions, Inc. Leadership Huntsville/Madison County, Inc. Moog, Inc. National Bank of Commerce PALCO Telecom Service, Inc. PeopleTec PFM Group PHOENIX Pinnacle Solutions, Inc. PROJECTXYZ, Inc. QTEC, Inc. Qualis Corporation Renasant Bank RJ Young scsworx ServisFirst Bank Sigmatech, Inc. Spencer Companies Incorporated Synapse Wireless, Inc. Systems Products and Solutions, Inc. The Surgery Center of Huntsville Wesfam Restaurants, Inc. (Burger King) West Huntsville Land Co., Inc. WHNT-TV WILL Technology, Inc. Woodland Homes of Huntsville Woody Anderson Ford Worthington Federal Bank

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We are women ... we understand.

Huntsville Hospital Breast Center offers: • All-female staff, supported by a team of highly-trained breast radiologists • Alabama’s first facility to earn “Excellence” accreditation from the American College of Radiology • All-digital mammography, Breast MRI and Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging • More than a decade of perfect scores for quality on Mammography Quality Standards Act inspection

Schedule a mammogram (256) 265-9999 The 9th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run, benefiting the Huntsville Hospital Breast Center, is October 20. Go to lizhurleyribbonrun.org for details and to register online.

huntsvillehospital.org/breastcenter

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Building a Better Network.

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ADTRAN is a proud member of the Huntsville/Madison County community. Whether you are a new or established member of the local community, we invite you to connect with us today, at www.adtran.com

ADTRAN, Inc. 901 Explorer Blvd.

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initiatives

Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

october 2012 cover story

Cummings Research Park 50 Years Old, Stronger Than Ever beginning on page 22 Where Tomorrow Happens Today beginning on page 25 Cover image by Eric Schultz, The Huntsville Times

features Economic Development Highlights

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including HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Geocent, UAHuntsville, MJLM, GEO Huntsville, and nLogic – plus SmartMoney.com and ACCE awards Huntsville/Madison County, Alabama is located in the middle of the southeastern United States, with more than four million people within a 100-mile radius. The Huntsville community is the economic hub of the northern Alabama/ southern Tennessee region. Huntsville/Madison County’s economy is one of the strongest in the nation, with low unemployment, strong job growth and income levels leading the region. Business growth and investment from U.S. and international companies have made it one of the country’s top “hot spots” for growing a business and raising a family.

Sequestration Appears Likely Small Business Center Stage Technology Summit Aloha to a Wonderful Night Support Local Businesses at the EXPO

18 20 29 32 37

list of vendors with diagram on page 41

Spotlight on Small Business

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developments HREGI Investors Listing Chamber Board Listing HREGI Testimonial Making Connections Chamber Staff Listing Community Profile

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editorial staff © Dennis Keim

Publisher

mission The mission of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

is to prepare, develop and promote our community for economic growth.

contact Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County 225 Church Street, Huntsville, AL 35801 main line: 256.535.2000 fax: 256.535.2015

online www.HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com www.asmartplace.com

fyi

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Submissions for editorial content are not accepted. Information in this and other Chamber publications is at the discretion of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. Advertising inquiries go through The Huntsville Times.

Executive Editor Editorial Designer Contributing Writers Photography

Advertising Sales

Chip Cherry, cce Patricia C. McCarter Kristi Sherrard Kimberly Ballard, Lucia Cape, Mike Kelley and Patricia McCarter Chamber of Commerce staff, publications and archive unless otherwise noted Chad Ludwig The Huntsville Times chad.ludwig@htimes.com 7

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Chamber of Commerce

Executive Committee and Board of Directors 2012 Executive Committee

Jim Bolte, Chair, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama Ron Poteat, Chair-Elect, Regions Bank Charlie Kettle, Immediate Past Chair, First Commercial Bank Tommy Beason, Chamber Foundation Chair, Consultant Frederick Lanier, Secretary/Treasurer, J. Smith Lanier & Co. Rey Almodóvar, Vice Chair - Economic Development, Intuitive Research & Technology Corporation

Rose Allen, Vice Chair - Governmental Affairs, Booz Allen Hamilton Kim Lewis, Vice Chair - Member Services, PROJECTXYZ Danny Windham, Vice Chair - Workforce, Digium Miranda Bouldin, Vice Chair - Small Business, LogiCore Dr. O’Neal Smitherman, Vice Chair - Research & Information Services, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

A Message from Chip Cherry Dear Chamber of Commerce Investors, Community Leaders and Friends: Ever wonder why Huntsville has been so successful? Why have we been able to attract so many high caliber companies and why we have one of the most highly skilled workforces in the United States? I was taught that luck is when opportunity and preparation meet. If that is so, then how did we get so “lucky”?

I would argue that our luck is the result of a series of visionary leaders who identified opportunities and were effective in making the most of them. Cummings Research Park is a great example of how our leaders identified an opportunity and did an amazing job of implementation. Cummings contains a unique blend of research, production, retail and support services. There are more than 300 businesses located in the park, collectively employing approximately 25,000 people. It is the second largest research park in the country, and it is often placed on who’s who lists of the best parks around the world.

We are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Cummings Research and the many wonderful activities that take place, have taken place, and will take place within its boundaries. Let us never forget that the benefits we are reaping today are the result of the vision, passion and hard work of those who developed the concept for Cummings Research Park – their efforts have benefitted all of us.

Chip Cherry, CCE President & CEO Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

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Crystal Shell, Vice Chair - Image Development, WILL Technology Mayor Tommy Battle, Chair-Appointed, City of Huntsville Mayor Paul Finley, Chair-Appointed, City of Madison Chairman Mike Gillespie, Chair-Appointed, Madison County Commission Robert Mayes, Chair-Appointed, BlueCreek Investment Partners Joe Ritch, Chair-Appointed, Sirote & Permutt David Spillers, Chair-Appointed, Huntsville Hospital Chip Cherry, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

Elected Board

Joe Alexander, Camber Corporation Cathy Anderson, Woody Anderson Ford Bob Baron, Baron Services Dr. Marc Bendickson, Dynetics Penny Billings, BancorpSouth Greg Bragg, Consolidated Construction Company Everett Brooks, Incrementum Consulting Group Micah Bullard, Turner Universal Construction Kevin Byrnes, Raytheon Company Kevin Campbell, Northrop Grumman Frank Caprio, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings Glenn Clayton, Appleton Learning Joe Collazo, COLSA Corporation Mark Curran, L-3 Communications Corporation - Huntsville Operations Kerry Fehrenbach, Intergraph Corporation Ron Gray, Gray Research John Gully, SAIC Natalie Hasley, Bama Jammer Steve Hassell, Emerson Network Power John Holly, Lockheed Martin Corporation Tharon Honeycutt, MSB Analytics Dr. Pam Hudson, Crestwood Medical Center Dr. Andrew Hugine, Alabama A&M University Tony Jones, The Boeing Company Simon Kim, LG Electronics Alabama Rich Marsden, Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne Angie McCarter, Davidson Technologies Elizabeth Morard, Qualis Corporation Joe Newberry, Redstone Federal Credit Union Jim Owens, BBVA Compass George Prueitt, Wyle CAS Group Charlie Sealy, Sealy Management Company Dr. Ashok Singhal, CFD Research Corporation Todd Slyman, Village of Providence Jan Smith, S 3 Tom Stanton, ADTRAN Cynthia Streams, Domino’s Pizza (Valley Pizza) Nilmini Thompson, Systems Products and Solutions Dr. Ernie Wu, ERC

October 2012 Initiatives

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY

HudsonAlpha Contributes to Important ENCODE Project A milestone in genomic research was achieved and shared by an international team working on the ENCODE Project – including scientists from the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology – means the task of interpreting an individual’s genome and better understanding human disease risk is getting closer to realization.

The Human Genome Project – the sequencing of the first human genome that was completed in 2003 – revealed about 3 billion base pairs comprise human DNA. In a way, the reading of those base pairs could be likened to learning the alphabet. Since 2007, the ENCODE Project has been taking the long strings of letters and discovering meaning from them by first identifying words, spaces and punctuation, then building sentences, constructing paragraphs and composing chapters.

“The goal, in a sense, is to interpret and document our genetic makeup,” said Rick Myers, Ph.D., president and director of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.

The team of 442 researchers from 32 labs in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Japan and Singapore mapped more than 4 million regulatory regions where proteins interact with the DNA with specificity. This mapping significantly advances understanding of the precise and complex controls exerted on cell function.

Among important discoveries released, researchers found that more than 80 percent of the human genome sequence is linked to biological function through regulation of our genes.

“There are millions of additional elements encoded in our DNA, involving more letters of our genome than do the protein-coding genes,” said Myers. These elements help determine which sets of proteins, as well as the quantities of each of them, are made in each cell.

In the last 10 years, researchers learned that 1 percent of the 3 billion paired letters in the human genome code for proteins. The data from ENCODE has further illuminated functional elements in the genome while also giving a better understanding of how these elements are orchestrated in complex networks. Because of the ongoing work of the ENCODE Project, scientists have new ways to anticipate and target future research.

“As a result of the ENCODE Project, thousands of researchers around the world - in universities, medical schools, biotech companies, pharmaceutical companies and research institutions – now have this new interpretation of our genome, freely available from the Internet, and are using it to understand a wide range of basic and biomedical problems,” Myers said. •

Geocent Makes Expansion Announcement for Huntsville Site Louisiana-based Geocent announced recently that its new Engineering Services Sector would be headquartered in Huntsville. About 100 jobs will be provided over the next year with this expansion.

Heading up the new sector is Mike Ogles, former VicePresident of Aerospace Systems at Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE), who joined Geocent as Senior Vice-President of the Engineering Services Sector. Dr. Frank Fogle also joined the company as Director of Huntsville operations.

“As part of our continued growth into a world-class technology company, we are launching a new Engineering Services Sector in Huntsville, where we will concentrate the leadership of our aerospace and advanced engineering efforts,” said Geocent Chief Executive Officer Bobby Savoie.

“Mike brings 25 years of experience in the field, and we are confident that the combination of Mike and Frank, along with our existing staff and new contracts we have recently won in Huntsville, will open new doors for Geocent’s existing growth.”

In addition to Ogles and Fogle, Greg Cromer will transition to the Engineering Services Sector while continuing to run Geocent operations in New Orleans.

“Locating our office in Huntsville puts us closer to some of 10

L-R: Mike Ogles, senior vice president of Geocent’s Engineering Services Sector, Bobby Savoie, Geocent CEO, and Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, at press conference at the Chamber. our new aerospace and engineering partners and customers,” Savoie said.

Geocent provides technology solutions across a wide variety of functional areas. Clients include government; primarily defense, homeland security, aerospace and social services; and commercial industries such as oil and gas exploration, marine transportation, and healthcare.

In 2012 the Louisiana Technology Council named Geocent “Growth Company of the Year.” In 2011 and 2010, Inc. Magazine named Geocent, LLC as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. New Orleans City Business honored Geocent in 2009 as “Innovator of the Year,” and as “One of the Best Places to Work in New Orleans” every year for the past six years. •

October 2012 Initiatives

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS continued from page 10

UAHuntsville Student Life Center to Open in Late 2013 The University of Alabama in Huntsville broke ground Aug. 21 on Charger Union, the new student life center scheduled to be constructed in the center of the university’s campus.

The new social gathering spot, which will contain 90,000 square feet, is expected to cost $25 million, and will provide space for retail, food vendors, dining and student activities. The building will be located on the south side of Holmes Avenue at its intersection with the planned campus greenway. Occupancy is expected to take place by the end of 2013.

A “bridge” component should provide safe pedestrian traffic across Holmes Avenue. The bridge will also enhance student interaction with the building during their daily commute. Streetscape improvements included with the building will be designed to create safer pedestrian traffic across Holmes.

The building’s plaza and wide, ground-level passages will create natural gathering spaces, which will serve to increase student activity on campus.

The architectural character will present an iconic visual reference using established materials across campus including architectural concrete, “Charger Blend” brick, glass curtain walls and metal panels. Expanses of glass will showcase student gatherings such as the dining area, lounge area, and gaming space, highlighting the vibrancy of student life. •

Shoveling dirt at the Charger Union groundbreaking were Freshman representative Michael Gilmore, Dean of Students Regina Hyatt, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, SGA President Caroline Butler, UAHuntsville President Robert Altenkirch and Alumni President Michelle Reavis.

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October 2012 Initiatives

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One of the country’s premier personal financial websites, SmartMoney.com, is telling its readers to consider Alabama as a fantastic place to retire, and heading the list of cities to consider is Huntsville.

The writer comments on the high number of engineers and Ph.D.s who call Huntsville home, as well as high-ranking retired Army officers: “Retirees also like that Huntsville boasts the state’s oldest symphony orchestra, quality medical care and a lower than average cost of living.”

It also calls attention to the lower cost of health care and long-term care, both of which are important to retirees.

“Alabama’s assisted living and nursing homes cost significantly less,” the article states. “A private room in a nursing home in Alabama costs $186 per day, compared to $239 for the nation as a whole; and $2,694 per month for assisted living, compared to $3,477 for the rest of the country, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute.

“And though residents pay income taxes here, the rate tops out at 5% and Social Security and pension income are exempt. Plus, homeowners over 65 don’t pay property taxes and there is no estate tax.” •

Winner

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SmartMoney.com Ranks Huntsville High on Retirement List

Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County President & CEO Chip Cherry, CCE, and Membership Director Mike Brazier were honored recently at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives 2012 Convention in Louisville, Ky. Cherry was given the 2012 Chairman’s Award in appreciation for his “selfless service to the advancement” of ACCE, according to the plaque he received at the event.

The ACCE Membership Development Division’s Circle of Champions recognized Cherry Brazier for his career sales of more than 500 memberships.

“Mike’s level of achievement in sales is something to truly be proud of,” Cherry said. “He has helped the Chamber enhance its effectiveness in membership, and it is great to have that recognized on a Brazier national level by ACCE.” As for his own award, Cherry said he was surprised when his name was called as the winner of the Chairman’s Award.

“I am humbled and honored by the recognition of my contribution to our profession,” he said. •

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Local Chamber Execs Honored at ACCE National Convention

Initiatives October 2012

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS continued from page 13

MJLM Opens Additional Site at Jetplex; Employees Added to Workforce MJLM, one of the top five largest African American-owned accounting and consulting firms in the United States, added to its portfolio of services to the government when it cut the ribbon on its newest Huntsville facility at the Jetplex Industrial Park.

MJLM has a total of four locations in Huntsville, which employ 102 people. At the new site, 22 workers will assist the company’s mission to collaborate and interface with both government and contractor personnel in research, design, development, manufacturing and integration of legacy and futuristic technologies, while supporting customer requirements.

Its engineering and technical services staff provides life-cycle solutions and a foundation for long-term technical support services.

“This is a place you can grow and grow exponentially,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said at the Aug. 8 ribbon cutting. “… It is a great day in Huntsville when you see industry grow.”

MJLM senior vice president Leonard Harris said the company had received an “unparalleled welcome” by Jetplex staff, and he anticipates the more than 27,000 square feet of warehouse space will allow MJLM to provide continuous support to the warfighter.

MJLM founding partner Odysseus Lanier thanked the many local business people who have helped him as he’s grown the company, and he thanked the Chamber for its support.

L-R: Buford Crutcher, executive vice president of operations, Leonard Harris, senior vice president, and “We are invested in the Huntsville community,” Lanier said. “And as long as we are founding partner Odysseus Lanier at the McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy LLP (MJLM) announcement. here, we will be an integral part of this community.” •

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OUR HUNTSVILLE BANKING TEAM:

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October 2012 Initiatives

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The inaugural GEO Huntsville Conference – planned for Nov. 8 and 9 – will attract businesses and professionals who utilize digital mapping technology and GIS for applications such as environmental protection, economic development, urban planning and critical infrastructure management.

The conference will be held in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. This conference will feature an array of user case studies, technical sessions and vendor presentations through a series of organized tracks.

The conference will bring together more than 50 companies, 20 government agencies and three local universities that develop geospatial technology expertise. Cyber Huntsville and Energy Huntsville will also participate in plenary sessions demonstrating the synergy among the three programs.

“I hope you will consider supporting the conference. I will be there to work with these organizations to improve our understanding of how Huntsville can continue to provide even greater economic opportunities for our citizens and encourage more companies to recognize Huntsville as a great place to do business,” said Mayor Battle.

“This conference is a great opportunity to share ideas and connect with others in the region, for major corporations as well as small to medium-sized companies that perhaps had not previously gathered in the same room,” said Joe Francica, conference chairman and lead for GEO Huntsville.

Conference organizers encourage early registration, which will cost $195. The cost for students is $75. More information about speaking at or sponsoring the conference can be found at the conference website www.GEOHuntsville.com. •

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First-Ever GEO Huntsville Conference Planned for November

Successful Projects Build Strong Relationships

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Initiatives October 2012

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Economic Development Highlights compiled by Patricia McCarter

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Gideon - Logistics, Training, and IT Support

Chamber Chair Elect Ron Poteat, nLogic CEO Tim Thornton and Principal Financial Group client service director Deborah Kobakof at the Sept. 13 celebration

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According to the Principal Financial Group, Huntsville defense contracting company nLogic is one of the top 10 businesses in the country for providing exceptional benefits to its workers.

The employee-owned company – founded in 2005 as an offshoot of Torch Technologies – experienced revenue growth of 44 percent last year while never cutting back on any benefits to its people.

“Companies who treat their employees this well are few and far between,” said Principal Financial Group regional client service director Deborah Kobakof at a Sept. 13 ceremony at the Davidson Center. “nLogic is one of them…Outstanding corporations like nLogic deserve to be recognized.”

Part of the recognition includes congratulatory ads for nLogic in The Wall Street Journal and Inc. Magazine. nLogic was also given $2,500 to donate to its favorite charity, the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

Tim Thornton, president and CEO of nLogic, said protecting employees’ financial security starts with making sure employees have a stable work environment.

“We’ve worked hard to grow the company so when we have a downturn in certain areas, we’ve been able to move our people over to new program areas,” he explains.

“That growth has allowed us to continue to protect our people and sustain our benefits.”

Employees have also established nLogic nAbles, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization to award monetary grants to worthy community causes. •

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Initiatives October 2012

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Sequestration Appears Likely But Companies Can Try to Minimize the Impact

T

he expert flown in from Washington, D.C. couldn’t say what the 130 business leaders wanted to hear at the Chamber’s update meeting on sequestration on Sept. 11.

Alan Chvotkin – who as executive vice president of the Professional Services Council is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable experts on sequestration – couldn’t say that the forced government budget cuts won’t happen.

But at the update sponsored by Sirote & Permutt, Morgan Keegan and Redstone Government Group, he was able to offer some tips on how to prepare for the impact of across-the-board cuts in this defense city.

Those in the know are no longer fearfully discussing the possibility of sequestration, Chvotkin said.

“We’re past the fear factor and down into the pragmatics,” he said. “Companies want to make sure they understand how the law would work and how it would affect them.

“I don’t see the political will changing

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(in Congress), and the window of time that it could be fixed is getting smaller every day.”

The salve that Chvotkin was able to spread to Chamber members was that if sequestration is triggered on Jan. 2 – which will constrain up to 10 percent of government spending if Congress doesn’t produce and approve a plan to cut the federal deficit – contracting won’t come to a screeching halt.

It won’t be a “light switch” moment, where one minute, defense contractors have work to do and the next minute, they don’t.

First, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) would have to issue a sequestration order which would then have to also be issued by the President.

Then a host of federal agencies – including all branches of the military – would have to determine how they are going to implement the mandatory cuts.

The cuts would have to achieve the targeted savings by Sept. 30, 2013.

The prior year’s unobligated balances are subject to sequestration for Department of De-

fense agencies but not for civilian agencies, Chvotkin said. Military pay and veteran’s pay will not be impacted, but other federal payrolls can be. Chvotkin did suggest that federal agencies will put a priority on protecting their workforce when enacting the cuts.

If sequestration continues into 2014, Congress will determine where the cuts will happen.

More than 85 percent of the Chamber’s membership is considered “small business,” and Chvotkin spoke directly to that group.

He said that, under sequestration, the government will make “accelerated payments” for those contracts that are maintained, and he recommended that small business stay in close touch with the contracting officers at larger defense companies with whom they subcontract to make sure they are paid on time.

Chvotkin did offer a bit of hope to one important segment of the Huntsville defense scene.

“Missile defense is a high priority,” he

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Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president, Professional Services Council said, noting that the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is headquartered at Redstone Arsenal and 85 percent of MDA work is performed here. “It won’t be entirely exempt, but it will be protected more (than other areas).”

He said it’s hard to tell how much NASA will be impacted, but the Federal Aviation Administration has greater exposure because its costs are more about personnel than programming.

Advice that Chvotkin gave to the defense contractors included: • Strengthen ongoing performance • Maximize run rates for existing contracts • Determine if an existing contract can add new work “There is broad agreement that sequestration is stupid,” Chvotkin said. “No one wants it, and it would have a significant impact on a city like Huntsville,” he said. “But the world of defense contracting won’t stop.

No switch will be flipped that turns it off.”

Chvotkin understands the sequestration process better than just about anybody else because the Professional Services Council is the leading national trade association advocate for businesses who contract with the federal government. Also, he spent 13 years as professional staff for Senate committees on Governmental Affairs, Small Business and Armed Services. Chvotkin has degrees in political science and public administration from American University and a law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law. • Patricia McCarter

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What’s Popp’N Something Sweet in Huntsville to Tempt Your Tastebuds

T

Cutline here...

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here is definitely something popping in South Huntsville, and it is guaranteed to be sweet and cheesy, spicy hot, and sometimes meaty – or any combination of the above. It’s What’s Popp’N Gourmet Popcorn, and if you thought popping corn was just a simple bucket of buttery goodness over a scary movie, then visit their 50-flavor popcorn tasting bar at 9009-F South Memorial Parkway and experience the versatility of this amazing snack.

“I didn’t know until I started doing research that there were more than three popcorn flavors: Butter, cheese and caramel corn,” said What’s Popp’N owner, Lisa Jackman. “Those were the flavors the kids and I bought at a little candy store in Mesquite, Texas, 23 years ago.”

Flavored coatings are not the only difference. “There are several different types of sweet popping corn,” Jackman explained.

“The heat acting on the water inside the kernel makes it pop open into what we know as popping corn, but all corn is not created equal. One of our most popular types of popcorn is our mushroom popping corn.

It pops into rounder, fatter kernels without the butterflies that break off when we candycoat it like on our newest addition, white chocolate cinnamon.”

What’s Popp’N has the standard butter flavors and several savory flavors like Buffalo wings, hot jalapeno, and baked potato.

There are several cheese flavors and combinations of sweet, hot and savory like bacon & caramel and southern Chicago.

“Hot kettle corn, popped in sugar and melted corn syrup is a classic, but the candied corn is probably the most popular for gifts,” Jackman said. Popcorn coated in

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SALIBA

Asset Management, LLC collegiate team colors is particularly popular.

Six years after moving to Huntsville, Jackman started research on the candy store/ gourmet popcorn concept. An early version of the Women’s Business Center of North Alabama (WBCNA) came to Jackman’s assistance, facilitating a market viability survey, connecting her with what is today the Small Business Development Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and helping her write a business plan with which she could then approach a bank about funding.

The journey was not an easy one and the path to success was cobbled with obstacles.

“Because the food industry has a high rate of failure, I had problems getting a bank loan. I didn’t see my store as a restaurant, but because I prepare food for sale, the health department required I have a fully compliant kitchen,” Jackman explained.

“Sometimes the timing just isn’t right, but I

never dropped the idea.”

Three and a half years ago, Lisa found an advocate for her idea. Her friend Joe suggested she purchase a couple of pieces of equipment - a small popcorn popper and a small caramel coating machine.

“I pulled out my first business plan and began to fine-tune it,” she said. “I considered getting started as a mobile vendor, setting up in the parks and selling at outdoor community events, but I wanted a storefront.”

She converted a former skateboard shop at 9009 South Memorial Parkway into her What’s Popp’N Gourmet Popcorn store.

“I purchased most of my popcorn from Huntsville’s own Pine Lawn Farm and Heart of Dixie Popcorn & Supply until April 2011 when their corn silos were hit by the devastating tornados. They are coming back later this year,” Jackman said.

• Kimberly Ballard

Multi-Asset Class Money Manager We make the investments, not a third party Gary Saliba 256-539-3965 Alan Spearman 256-508-4525

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First Commercial Bank is a division of Synovus Bank. Synovus Bank, Member FDIC, is chartered in the state of Georgia and operates under multiple trade names across the Southeast. Divisions of Synovus Bank are not separately FDIC-insured banks.The FDIC coverage extended to deposit customers is that of one insured bank.

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Established in1962 as Huntsville Research Park Renamed in 1973 in honor of Milton K. Cummings

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Major Expansion in 1982 – Land purchased for “CRP West” by City of Huntsville October 2012 Initiatives

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Cummings Research Park 50 Years Old, Stronger Than Ever If you break it down to job numbers, Cummings Research Park would be the eighth largest “city” in the state with 25,000 employees equaling 1.3 percent of all Alabama workers.

Given the fact that not so very long ago, that which is now the second largest research park in the country was a sea of cotton fields, that’s impressive. Those former fields now house companies that do some of the most cutting edge research and product development in the world.

From missile defense to biotechnology to telecommunications, the public-private initiative known as Cummings Research Park is – as former Gov. Bob Riley called it – “the crown jewel of Alabama’s economic development assets.” It is the heart of hightech Huntsville, a community whose modern history helped establish and guide the development of the U.S. space and missile programs.

That initial base of technical knowledge and endless imagination continues to evolve into discoveries that make the world a better place.

In the Beginning In June 1960, Redstone Arsenal officials approached the University of Alabama to add a research center in Huntsville. Within months, personnel from the Tuscaloosa campus were in Huntsville to lead an interim research institute. Shortly afterwards, Marshall Space Flight Center was funding research there. And on June 21, 1961, NASA’s Wernher von Braun addressed a joint session of the Alabama Legislature to ask for additional funding to develop the institute so that the state’s economic development potential could be met.

The state gave $3 million; Huntsville and Madison County came up with another $400,000 to purchase additional land.

Also during this time frame, Brown Engineering Company (now known as Teledyne Brown Engineering) was expanding its square footage to accommodate its Saturn rocket and ballistic missile defense work.

Brown Engineering’s Joe Moquin found 360 desirable acres on the newly named Sparkman Drive, which

was near Redstone Arsenal and across from the college which would soon gain the name of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Moquin and colleague Milton Cummings could see that Huntsville was growing and attracting space and missile defense businesses. They wanted the new Brown Engineering site to become an anchor tenant in a research park. Additional land was acquired to make this happen, and in late 1962, the Huntsville City Council designated the entire 3,000-acre area as Huntsville Research Park.

Charles Younger in the city attorney’s office is credited with developing the extensive zoning that limited the future use of the land. By 1965, the University of Alabama in Huntsville Foundation became the nonprofit entity overseeing development.

Lockheed Martin and IBM were the next to build in Huntsville Research Park. After Cummings died in 1973, the area was renamed Cummings Research Park.

By the end of the 1970s, what is now known as CRP East was almost filled. continued on page 24 Initiatives October 2012

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Sign photo by Eric Schultz/The Huntsville Times Initi_10-03_N.indd 23

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Cummings Research Park, continued from page 23 – “Cummings Research Park has provided Huntsville with the means to nurture and develop a robust knowledge economy,” said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. “This dynamic science and technology cluster, which has a natural, symbiotic relationship with Redstone Arsenal and UAHuntsville, has been a cornerstone of our economic growth.

“Increased collaboration between these entities has helped to transform new ideas into innovative technologies, well positioning Huntsville to compete in the global marketplace. The ultimate goal, of course, is not just to compete in the marketplace, but to be an international leader and shift technological forces in our direction.”

Phase Two

“Some of the most innovative and intelligent people in the United States drive into the park to go to work every day. That separates this community in a positive way from so many others.”

Moving forward

Lower photo courtesy of Dynetics; Northrop Grumman and ADTRAN photos by Eric Schultz/The Huntsville Times

With the original park at near capacity and the Huntsville technology scene continuing to grow, city leaders knew an expansion was necessary. In 1982, CRP West opened with Dynetics, Inc., as the first occupant.

ADTRAN then began building its massive campus. Other heavy hitters followed suit in CRP West in this second phase that included man-made lakes, underground

utilities, extensive landscaping and broad streets.

This new phase strengthened the development restrictions on the park, rivaling – and in many instances exceeding – the quality of planned research and development parks anywhere in the world. The City of Huntsville continued to acquire land for future growth of the park, ultimately reaching its current size of nearly 3,900 acres.

That attention to detail paid off. CRP was named in 1997 as the Most Outstanding Research/Science Park in the World by the Association of University Research Parks (AURP), based in part on the diversity of the park stemming from its foundation of aerospace and defense.

In fact CRP is now home to a vibrant blend of Fortune 500 companies and smaller startups. More than 300 businesses call it home.

“Perhaps the greatest strength of Cummings Research Park is its diverse base of technology companies,” said John Southerland, director of CRP. “Whether it is aerospace and defense, computer science, modeling and simulation, biotechnology or weather monitoring technologies, the one thing the organizations in CRP share is brain power.

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The decade from 2000 to 2010 saw tremendous investment in the park. Thanks to $50 million in state support and $80 million in private donations, the nonprofit HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology was founded by Jim Hudson and Lonnie McMillian to be a synergistic cluster of researchers and entrepreneurs. One side of the house works to make genetic discoveries and the other side works to use that science for commercial application.

It is hailed as a one-of-a-kind marriage of genetic R&D. Also in the past decade, city leadership brought to fruition a long-term plan to add an upscale commercial services district where employees of and visitors to Cummings Research Park could go to shop, eat, sleep and be entertained. Bridge Street Town Centre offers what no other research park offers… a premier mixed-use lifestyle center with more than 70 shops and restaurants, The Westin luxury hotel and condos, a 14-screen Monaco Pictures and a six story office tower.

Bridge Street also features a 10-acre lake, carousel, fountains and lots of green open spaces.

Former Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer chaired the Planning Commission that developed the master plan for CRP’s commercial services district where the development rests today.

“It is a priority for the city of Huntsville to accommodate the needs of the companies located in CRP,” Spencer said when the development was announced. “It was our intent to have the availability of hotel space and housing to accommodate those working in CRP. Companies in the park do business internationally, and convenience to that customer is a high priority.”

For 50 years Cummings Research Park has been one of the most successful parks of its kind in the world, through the collaboration, research and progress between government, academia and industry. Happy Birthday CRP, here’s to the next 50!

• Patricia McCarter

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Where Tomorrow Happens Today 50 Years and Counting of Birthing History-Changing Discoveries

I

n the more than 50 years since Milton Cummings drove a shovel into the dirt of a cotton field on the west side of Huntsville to break ground for Brown Engineering’s new headquarters, Cummings Research Park has grown to become the nation’s second largest campus devoted to scientific and technical research.

It’s been a busy half-century. Hundreds of firms have located into CRP since then, spawning thousands of innovations and patents devoted to pursuit of the next new thing. Listing all of the amazing discoveries made in CRP over the past 50 years is impossible, but here are a few of the recent highlights.

Aerospace/Defense Since its inception, CRP has supported space launch and exploration efforts. Last December, Dynetics Corporation made news with the announcement it had been selected by Stratolaunch Systems to provide technical integration and mating and integration system hardware for a revolutionary air launch system.

Stratolaunch systems, formed just a few weeks earlier by Microsoft Corporation cofounder Paul Allen, will provide affordable launch capabilities to low Earth orbit (LEO) by mating commercial rockets, primarily Space X’s Falcon 9, to huge, twin-hulled aircraft for high altitude launches.

The “air launch” concept isn’t really new; it was used by SpaceShipOne, winner of

the $10 million Ansari X prize for suborbital spaceflight in 2004. But Dynetics officials think it could put Huntsville at the forefront of the burgeoning industry.

“This air launch system will be a game changer in the space launch business,” said David King, executive vice president.

Dynetics’ primary role, says Director of Space Technologies Steve Cook, will be to provide technical direction and systems integration. The company will also develop the Mating Integration System (MIS) used to successfully mate the rocket to the airplane.

Teledyne Brown Engineering, the original CRP corporate tenant, made news with the announcement in 2011 of their strategic partnership with Aerojet to manufacture liquid-fueled rocket engines for NASA’s Space Launch System. Teledyne President Rex Geveden said it was an opportunity for Teledyne to “be in the rocket propulsion business” and “put the rocket back in Rocket City.”

In May, Teledyne unveiled an Aerojet AJ26 liquid rocket engine at company headquarters on Sparkman Drive. Geveden and Aerojet vice president for Space and Launch Systems Julie Van Gleek, said the AJ26 and other programs could add hundreds of new engineering and manufacturing jobs.

It’s a good chance that any Aerojet-produced rocket will fly into space with coatings produced by AZ Technologies. The epitome of a niche company, 25-employee AZ Technologies is the only sole-source provider of most of the paints and coatings sought by NASA and other space agencies, says President and CEO Lynn Leeper.

Leeper’s company has furnished the paints for many NASA launch vehicles, including the Space Shuttle, and AZ has developed special coatings for the International Space Station.

Despite the end of the Shuttle program,

Leeper says her company is still growing through increased exports of thermal control and conductive paints and coatings to other nations’ space programs, such as the Russian and Japanese space agencies.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville is the anchor tenant of CRP and has been an aerospace and defense partner with the Army, NASA and numerous corporations in Cummings Research Park the past 50 years.

CRP Rankings: • 2nd largest research and technology park in the U.S. • Most Outstanding Science Park in the World (AURP, 1997) That was true when Dr. Wernher von Braun encouraged the Alabama Legislature to invest in a research institute on the campus in the early 1960s, and those relationships have grown stronger over the decades.

Today, approximately 70 percent of the research at UAHuntsville is tied to NASA and DoD funding. For instance, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is leading an international effort to develop and launch the High Resolution Coronal Imager, or HiC. This project, which includes UAHuntsville as a partner, is a next-generation suborbital space telescope designed to capture the highest-resolution images ever taken of the million-degree solar corona.

The university has recently taken possession of a device that was formerly used to test nuclear weapons effects. The 50-ton machine has now found a new life in the university’s rocket propulsion research efforts.

The new massive device is being assembled at the university’s Aerophysics Research Center, where a team of scientists continued on page 26 Initiatives October 2012

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Where Tomorrow Happens Today, continued from page 25 – and researchers from UAHuntsville’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Boeing and Marshall Space Flight Center’s Propulsion Engineering Lab are busy putting together a machine they’re calling the “Charger-1 Pulsed Power Generator, ”which will help further development of nuclear fusion technology to drive spacecraft.

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Since the opening of HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in 2007, biotechnology and life science research have emerged to claim a larger share of Huntsville’ economic base.

Dedicated to genomics research, today more than 20 tenant firms occupy space in HudsonAlpha’s gleaming facility in CRP West.

Basic research, to be truly useful, must be transformed into solutions that can be marketed and distributed to spread their benefits to the world. A recent example is a diagnostic tool, largely developed at HudsonAlpha, which quickly identifies pathogens through their DNA sequences.

A HudsonAlpha researcher, Dr. Jian Han, has partnered with HudsonAlpha tenant Diatherix Laboratories to develop a method of testing oral swab cultures to give far more accurate and faster diagnostic test results than traditional methods. Rather than grow petri dish cultures that can mutate and give inaccurate test results, doctors can use a simple genetic test to identify a single virus or pathogen through replicating portions of the DNA chain.

The test allows the lab to verify the presence or absence of 20 or more pathogens that might be the cause of a respiratory problem.

Because the test can quickly distinguish between various types of influenza, meningitis, staph, strep, pneumonia, and other viral illnesses, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave a go-ahead to use the diagnostic tool in testing for H1N1, the swine flu virus.

Diatherix President and Chief Operating

Officer Randy Ward is working with Han to commercialize the test procedure, while also responding to doctor’s requests to add new pathogens for testing.

Another HudsonAlpha tenant, CFD Research, is also working on breakthrough discoveries, one of the most notable being the “Bio-Battery,” which could be used to fuel pacemakers and other implanted medical devices.

CRP Facts: Buildings: 175 Companies: 300+ Workforce: 25,000 Land Area: 3,843 Acres Capacity: 9.5 million square feet The Bio-Battery uses enzymes to convert naturally occurring sugar in the body into energy similar to the way biological systems use enzymes to convert food into energy.

The heart of the device is a nanocomposite anode which contains enzymes capable of oxidizing glucose and other sugars, releasing electrons and generating energy.

The biggest advantage the Bio-Battery could have is that the theoretical energy density is 10 times greater than that of current state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. The Bio-Battery also utilizes renewable biocatalysts as opposed to expensive and toxic transition metal catalysts of other batteries. In addition, the Bio-Battery allows for instant recharge (through supply of more sugar) in comparison with traditional batteries which require access to power for two hours for recharging.

Also in the life science realm, Dr. Joseph Ng, an associate professor and director of UAHuntsville’s biotechnology program, has created a commercial spinoff called iXpressGenes. He said the company’s emerging technology uses engineering principles to design and fabricate biological systems for applications in bioremediation, defense, energy and human health.

The company is synthesizing genes and redesigning biological systems at the molecular and structural level to render microorganisms that can metabolize oil, produce ethanol or even serve as vaccines for certain type of cancer, according to Ng.

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Another major breakthrough involved the telecommunications industry’s acceptance that regular AC electric power from the home can be used to power the system, eliminating the requirement for the telephone services provider to furnish power all the way to the house. Using a simple media continued on page 42

12

Sitting at the center of Research Park West, Huntsville-based ADTRAN, Inc. has taken center stage as a world leader in broadband communications. Last year the company announced breakthroughs in the three major challenges standing in the way of high-speed broadband deployment in both the U.S. and abroad, according to Kevin Morgan, Director of Product Marketing for ADTRAN’s Carrier Network Division.

Morgan said ADTRAN’s revolutionary new broadband architecture, Ultra Broadband Ethernet, solves three basic challenges not addressed by existing solutions, including packaging, performance and powering issues.

Ultra Broadband Ethernet allows 100 megabit per second signals to be transmitted over the conventional twisted pair telephone cables commonly used to provide land-line telephone services worldwide. The breakthrough allows for symmetrical signals to be reliably transmitted as far as 500 feet.

Morgan explained that this new architecture provides symmetrical ultra-high bandwidth services ranging from 100 Mbps to 1Gbps, which exceeds the speed of conventional Fiber to the Home (FTTH) service.

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For the agenda, go to bit.ly/techsummit2012.

Technology Summit Inaugural Chamber Event Helps to Celebrate CRP 50th Anniversary

T

he Chamber is holding its first ever Technology Summit on Oct. 16. Sponsored by Emerson Network Solutions, the summit is a day-long forum designed to help grow technology-based business in Huntsville/Madison County.

The planning team, led by John Gully of SAIC who also serves at the chair of the Chamber’s Technology Committee, has put together speakers and panelists to address two types of growth. The first half of the day will focus on “going commercial” – leveraging technology developed under federal contract into commercial applications.

The second half of the day will focus on ac-

cessing and diversifying federal customers. For commercial companies, that means landing that first government contract. For existing contractors, it means adding additional government customers.

The keynote speaker for the summit is Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Other featured speakers include Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Huntsville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama President Jim Bolte. Bolte is also the Chamber Board Chair for 2012.

The speakers and panelists for the morning and afternoon sessions include local business

leaders and federal customers who will share their experiences in commercialization and contracting.

An exciting feature of the summit is the demonstration of technologies by presenting, gold and silver sponsors. The demonstrations will include a battery that runs on blood sugar, a comprehensive data center server management system and a robotic virtual reality simulator.

Participants will leave with a program that includes resources for accessing support for technology transfer, small business development and federal funding.

• Lucia Cape

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Making Connections The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County hosts numerous events each month to create networking and business growth opportunities for members and to coordinate efforts to grow the local economy. Examples �� recent events include:

Member Journey Luncheon presented by Verizon Wireless

An overview of the Chamber’s networking and professional development opportunities was given at the Member Journey luncheon on Aug. 14.

Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County

2012 STAFF Executive Staff Chip Cherry, CCE, president & CEO Tammy Gregory, executive assistant Ashley Shady, resource desk coordinator Richard McCollum, resource desk assistant

Economic Development Ethan Hadley, VP, economic development Lucia Cape, VP, workforce & industry relations John Southerland, director, Cummings Research Park | project manager

Ken Smith, director, research & information services Harrison Diamond, project manager Amy Locke, economic development, workforce & industry relations administrative assistant

Communications Patricia McCarter, communications director Kristi Sherrard, graphic designer Hiroko Sedensky, web designer

Governmental Affairs

Business After Hours

Mike Ward, VP, governmental affairs

hosted by PiNZ Bowl

Tina Leopold, governmental affairs assistant

PiNZ Bowl at Bridge Street Town Centre provided a fun venue for a well-attended Business After Hours on Aug. 16.

Finance & Administration Christy Nalley, director, finance & administration Jamie Gallien, IT manager Mary McNairy, accounting specialist Lori Warner, accounting specialist Joe Watson, facilities supervisor

Membership Mike Brazier, director, membership

2012 Small Business Awards Celebration presented by Regions Bank

Chamber members let down their hair at the “Business Paradise” themed Small Business Awards at the VBC on Aug. 30.

Donna McCrary, membership specialist Amy Brantley, membership representative Melissa Putzier, membership representative

Small Business & Member Services Pammie Jimmar, small business manager Mitzi Floyd, small business coordinator Rêvé Smith, events coordinator Amanda Bishop, events assistant

Associated Organizations The Community Foundation

Chamber members benefit from networking events, electronic and printed publications, educational programs for small business and, perhaps most importantly, the knowledge that they are part of a collective effort to establish Huntsville/Madison County as a stronger, more visible community in the global competition for economic growth.

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(communityfoundationhsv.org)

WBCNA (www.wbcna.org)

Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County 225 Church Street, Huntsville, AL 35801 phone 256-535-2000 / fax 256-535-2015 www.HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com

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Celebrating 50 Years in style!

Outdoor Concert at Bridge Street Town Centre Monday, Oct. 15 5-9 p.m.

Concert Stroll Dinner Specials; participating restaurants include Cantina Laredo, P.F. Chang’s, Connors Steak and Seafood, The Tavern, Watercress and Scene Lounge

Family-Friendly Fun! Plus special displays to celebrate 50 years of Collaboration, Research and Progress.

Presenting Sponsor:

Limited sponsorship opportunities available at time of publication. Call 256-535-2035.

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Rey Almodovar & Dave Hargrove

Award winner in the 51-350 category

Aloha to a Nonpr of and f i it winner nalist s

, Miranda B ouldin chair small business vice

Ron Poteat, Regions Bank & Jim Bolte, 2012 Board Chair l Young Pr ofessiona f inalist & winner

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27th Annual Small Business Awards: “most fun ever” Presenting Sponsor:

Platinum Sponsor:

Fun, Festive & Fabulous! (where’s my table?)

P hot os by Lauren Tomasella P hot ography

October 2012 Initiatives

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Standing Room Only

Hard to tell winner from this shot!

Government Contracting winner

Wonderful Night U

nder the theme of “A Business Paradise,” the Chamber honored the winners of the 27th Annual Small Business Awards on Aug. 30 at the VBC. Hosting the event attended by more than 1,000 Chamber members were WAFF news anchor Liz Hurley and AT&T Regional Vice President Dave Hargrove.

“The Small Business Awards celebration was a huge success as we took time to recognize the accomplishments of our members,” said Pammie Jimmar, the Chamber’s manager of the Small Business division.

“We could not have done it without the dedication and support of the SBA committee, led by Louis Michetti of Regions Bank, our sponsors, our Chamber staff and technical support team.

“This year’s theme, A Business Paradise, was well received by all and has been labeled by many Chamber members as the most fun Small Business Awards they’ve ever attended!”

Louis Michett i, chair awards c ommittee

W inner of B usiness/ P Ser vices & Excel lenc rofessional O pt ional awards e is not

Br own .

G l l e s s Ru eadershi p L e iv t u c e Ex nner Award wi

winners & finalists listed on page 35

Ready for some ! big waves of fun

hy

Liz Hur ley

Yummy aloha menu

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community profile

TOP 10 EMPLOYERS City of Huntsville

2000 Census

276,700

158,216

29,329

342,376

Huntsville Hospital System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,919

2011 Census

340,111

182,956

43,685

425,480

Huntsville City Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,079

22.9%

15.6%

48.9%

24.3%

The Boeing Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,600

% Growth

City of Huntsville Madison Metro Area

Redstone Arsenal* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,000

Population

Madison County

NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,000

Madison County Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,389

Households & Income*

SAIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,229

# of Households

126,564

73,235

14,840

156,592

Avg. Household Income

$74,304

$67,940

$101,574

$71,906

ADTRAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,740

Per Capita Income

$29,918

$29,255

$37,883

$28,761

UAHuntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,675

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov), *2010 American Community Survey

City of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,206

Source: Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County *includes on-site contractors

Aerospace & Defense Huntsville/Madison County is home to the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center which combine to drive a thriving aerospace and defense technology industry. More than 36,000 people work at Redstone Arsenal and NASA managing some of the country’s most important and sophisticated technology programs including missiles, aviation and space exploration.

Research & Technology Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park has earned a reputation as a global

For more information visit:

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HuntsvilleAlabamaUSA.com

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34

October 2012 Initiatives

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Aloha to a Wonderful Night, continued from page 33 – Here are the winners and finalists: • The Young Professional of the Year award went to Antonio ‘Tony’ McGinnis, the executive director of the Harris Home for Children. Other finalists were Ginger Harper of iBERIABANK and Violet Edwards of Christmas Charities Year Round.

• The Nonprofit of the Year award went to the National Children’s Advocacy Center.

Finalists were HEALS Inc. and the Better Business Bureau.

• AEgis Technologies Group won the new Small Business Award category of companies with 51-350 employees. Finalists were Venturi, Inc. and PeopleTec, Inc. • The winner of the Government Contracting Services category was Cummings Aerospace. Finalists were LESCO and Five Stones Research Corporation.

• Winning the Business/Professional Services category was Flint River Animal Hospital. Finalists were BID Designs and NETWORx of Huntsville. Flint River Animal Hospital also won the Excellence is Not Optional award from Alabama A&M University.

• GaN Corporation won the Technology category, and finalists were Cepeda Systems & Software Analysis, Inc. and Brockwell Technologies, Inc. • Steven Hill, the president and CEO of AEgis Technologies Group, received the Russell G. Brown Executive Leadership award. Other finalists in that category were Dr. Jonn Kim of GaN Corporation and Michael W. Wicks of i3. Hill was also presented the Business Fellow Award from the College of Business Administration from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Awards given by other organizations: • The Huntsville Association of Small Businesses in Advanced Technology Small Business Advocate for Excellence Award went to Dr. William A. Craig of the Software Engineering Directorate.

• The Women’s Business Center of North Alabama’s Small Business Start-up of the Year went to Silhouette Boutique.

• Staff Reports

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Initiatives October 2012

Initi_10-03_N.indd 35

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9/19/12 2:08:41 PM

36

October 2012 Initiatives

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9/19/12 2:08:42 PM

For a list of EXPO vendors, see page 41.

Support Local Businesses Longer Hours AND a Focus on Health & Wellness!

T

here’s something new at the 2012 Business EXPO. First, expanded hours – this year, stretching from noon until 7 p.m. – will allow people to stop by the Von Braun Center’s South Hall after work to check out 200-plus vendor booths. Second, an entire section of the EXPO will be devoted to those Chamber members who focus on the fields of health and wellness.

There’s still time to rent booth space at the EXPO, which draws thousands of potential customers each year. (The deadline to reserve a booth is Oct 26.) As well as inform the public about what they do, businesses are also able to sell their products at their booths.

The event is free and open to the public.

The EXPO will also be the site for free business and consumer training sessions provided by the Chamber. All small business

owners are encouraged to stop by and pick up tips on how to better serve their clientele.

This years’ presenting sponsor is The Huntsville Times. Natalie Pruitt, vice president of advertising for The Times, said the EXPO is a great fit for the newspaper to sponsor.

“We are proud and excited that the 2012 Business EXPO will be the first event that Alabama Media Group will sponsor in Huntsville, the birthplace of al.com,” Pruitt said. “The Huntsville Times and al.com have consistently supported the Chamber in its efforts to help local businesses find new and innovative ways to grow and improve.

“Sponsorship of the 2012 EXPO is an example of that. As participants in the EXPO, it’s a great opportunity for al.com and The Times to introduce our new company to the market.”

Pruitt assumed the role of vice president

of sales for Alabama Media Group when the company launched on Oct. 1.

Pammie Jimmar, manager of the Chamber’s Small Business division, said the EXPO is one of the Chamber’s premier events because it allows members to highlight what they have to offer to customers in Huntsville and Madison County.

“If you want to grow your business, there is no better way to let the public know who you are and what you do,” Jimmar said.

“You can get your products and services in front of hundreds of people who are looking for people to do business with.

“Reserving a space at the Chamber’s Annual Business EXPO is one of the smartest things you can do if you want to be successful.”

To reserve a booth, contact Mitzi Floyd at mfloyd@hsvchamber.org or 256.535.2089.

• Patricia McCarter

Photos from the 2011 Business EXPO Initiatives October 2012

Initi_10-03_N.indd 37

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9/19/12 2:08:47 PM

Where to go • Who to see for products and services

Use a Chamber member…it’s in your best interest Advertising

Attorneys

The Huntsville Times 2317 S. Memorial Pkwy., 35801 256-532-4250

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP 200 Clinton Ave, Suite 900, 35801 256-517-5100

UAHuntsville Professional & Continuing Education 103 Wilson Hall, 35899 256-824-6372

Aerospace / Defense Contractors

Automobile - Dealers - New

Engineering Services Research and Development

AEgis Technologies Group, Inc. 410 Jan Davis Drive, 35806 256-922-0802

Woody Anderson Ford 2500 Jordan Lane NW, 35816 256-539-9441

Davidson Technologies, Inc. 530 Discovery Drive, 35806 256-922-0720

ASD 103 Quality Circle, Suite 200, 35816 256-837-2293

Banks

MTSI 5285 Shawnee Road, Suite 400 Alexandria, VA 22312 703-564-3800

Avion 7067 Old Madison Pike Suite 170, 35806 256-721-7006 Boeing 499 Boeing Blvd, 35824 256-461-2121 General Dynamics IT www.gdit.com InfoPro Corporation 6705 Odyssey Drive, 35806 256-382-9700 Intuitive Research & Technology 5030 Bradford Drive Bldg 2, Suite 205, 35805 256-922-9300

Bancorp South 603 Madison Street, 35801 256-564-8446 Bryant Bank 415 Church Street, 35801 256-535-1045

First Financial Group Wealth Management 400 Meridian Street, Suite 100 256-704-4617

First Commercial Bank 301 Washington Street, 35801 256-551-3300

Saliba Asset Management, LLC 112 Southside Square, 35801 256-539-3965

National Bank of Commerce 203 Greene Street, Suite B, 35801 256-564-7600 ServisFirst Bank www.servisfirstbank.com 256-722-7800 Contractor

LMI Consulting, Inc. 6767 Old Madison Pike, Suite 275, 35806 256-461-6039

Fyffe Construction 1544 Main Street, Fyffe, AL 35971 256-623-2249

PeopleTec Inc. 4901 Corporate Drive, Suite I, 35805 256-319-3800

Credit Unions

S3 - System Studies & Simulation, Inc. 615 Discovery Drive, 35806 256-539-1700 SAIC www.saic.com Torch Technologies 4035 Chris Drive, Suite C, 35802 256-319-6000

Financial Services

Redstone Federal Credit Union 220 Wynn Drive, 35893 256-837-6110 Education Schools, Colleges, Universities J.F. Drake State Technical College 3421 Meridian St, N, 35811 256-551-3117

Hospitals Huntsville Hospital 101 Sivley Road, 35801 256-265-1000 Logistics Support Services Gideon 688 Discovery Drive, Suite 105, 35806 256-585-3361 Real Estate Industrial Properties of the South 2903 Wall Triana Hwy., 35758 256-461-7482 NAI Chase Commercial 2705 Artie Street Bldg. 500, Suite 40, 35805 256-539-1686 Telecommunications ADTRAN, Inc. 901 Explorer Blvd., 35806 256-963-8000

List your company in this Buyers Guide • For information call 256-532-4250 0000302275-01

Initi_10-03_N.indd 38

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A1

Main Entrance from Prefunction Area Hallway

A2

A3

A4

A5

A6

A7

A8

A18

A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17

A19

ROW A

B25

A30 A29

A28 A27

A26 A25

A24 A23

A22 A21

B1

B3

B5

B7

B9 B10

B2

B4

B24 B23

B6

B8

A20

Lounge Area

ROW B

G1

B22 B21

B20 B19

B18 B17

B16 B15

B14 B13

B12 B11

G2

C1

C3

C5

C7

C8

C9 C10

C11 C12

G3

C2

C4

C6 ROW C

C22 C21

C20 C19

C18 C17

C16 C15

C14 C13

G5

D1 D2

D3 D4

D5 D6

D7 D8

D9 D10

D11 D12

G6

D23

D22 D21

D20 D19

D18 D17

D16 D15

D14 D13

E24

E1

E3

E5

E7

E9 E10

D25

ROW D

D24

E2

E4

E6

E8

Chamber Area

E22 E21

E20 E19

E18 E17

E16 E15

E14 E13

F1

F3

F5

F7

F9 F10

F2

F4

F25

F6

G7 G8 G9 G10

ROW E

E23

Second Entrance from Prefunction Area Hallway

G4

C24 C23

ROW G

A-Z Office Resource, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D3-D4 AAA Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B15 AdvoCare - Sara Edelman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W25 AHI Corporate Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 al.com (Alabama Live, LLC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B23 Alabama Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Alabama Pain Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W1 All Seasons One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning. . . . . . . . A21 Allied Waste Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E13 America’s Party Pros, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D1-D2 American Family Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W26 API Digital Communications Group, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B12 AT&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B10 Bama Jammer, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B11 BancorpSouth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6 Bath Fitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 BB&T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A12 Behavioral Healthcare Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H16 BlueCreek Investment Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E14 Bouari Clinic of Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H9 Cadence Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D21 Calhoun Community College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 CB&S Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D23 CenturyLink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B24 ColorXPress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E22 Comcast Cablevision of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C13-C14 Computer Troubleshooters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A27 Costco Wholesale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B21/W28 Courtyard by Marriott - Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F25 Crestwood Medical Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .W5-W6 CruiseOne - Soohoo & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E10 Decatur Business Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D20 Dentistry Today. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H2 Dinner By Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Eagle Collision Center, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Edward Jones - James Falcon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8 EMBROIDME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D11 Executive Flight Center, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C18 Eyecare Associates, Inc. - Drs. Moultrie and Nicastro. . . . . . H19 FASTSIGNS of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D12 First Commercial Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 First Financial Group Wealth Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . C1 Florida Institute of Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A26 Focus Radio Communications - WTKI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A20 Fourroux Prosthetics, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H1 Fret Shop, Inc., The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A13 Gateway Mortgage Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B7 Goga Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W10 Good Samaritan Hospice of Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W3 Happy Tails Ranch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C7-C8 HealthSource Chiropractic and Progressive Rehab. . . . . . . . H10 Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa . . . . . . . . . . . . A14 Holiday Inn - Downtown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B19 Holistic Medical Center of Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H21 HoneyBaked Ham Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A28 Huntsville Times, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D13-D14 Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau . . C16 Icemakers of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E4 If It’s Wood Cabinetry, Granite & Tile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B20 Independent Beauty Consultant - Carly Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . G1 International Fire Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E5 ITT Technical Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1 J.R. Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D22 Johnson Orthodontics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H11 K. D. Wood Co., Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E7 Knology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C23- C24

Booths sold at time of publication

F8

G11

E12 E11 Cyber Café F11 F12

G12 G13

ROW F

F24

F23

F22 F21

F20 F19

F18 F17

F16 F15

F14 F13

Corner A

H1

H2 H3

H4 H5

H6 H7

H8

H9

H10 H11

H21 H20

H19 H18

H17 H16

H15 H14

H13 H12

W1 W2

W3 W4

W5 W6

W7 W8

W9 W10

Lounge Area

G14

Health & Wellness Area

Health & Wellness Area

Corner B W28 W27 W26 W25 W24 W23 W22 W21 W20 W19 W18 W17 W16 W15 W14 W13 W12 W11

Lambert Record Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A17 Landers McLarty Nissan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G4-G14 Lauren Tomasella Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D24 LEAN Frog Business Solutions, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E1-E2 Look Outdoor Advertising, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Madison County Health Department . . . . . . . .W11-W12-W13 Madison County Health Department-WIC Program . . . . . . . W9 Madison Weekly News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B18 Magnolia Trace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H14 Maids, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F22 Mailings, Coupons & More, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C11 Maven Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E8 Medical Weight Loss Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H3 MIMI Medical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H18 MindGear Labs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C12 Monaco Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A1-A2 Motlow State Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3 Nesin Therapy Services, PC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H20 NETWORx of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A23-A24 New Market Bar-B-Q . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A19 Paul Davis Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D18 PHOENIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A9 Port of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A11 Preferred Computer Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E17 Principal Financial Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F23 Progressive Family Medicine / Alternative Medicine. . . . . . . H4 Providence Place Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A15 Quail Creek Golf Resort and Conference Center . . . . . . . . . D19 Quality Quick Printing, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Redstone Federal Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D5 Redstone Rocket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D9 Redstone Village. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H17

Regions Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 RetroFoam of Alabama, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2 Riley Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 RJ Young Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Rocket City Broadcasting - 99.1, 95.1, 98.1 . . . . . . . . . . A30 Rocket City Pets Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G3 Ruth’s Chris Steak House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B16 Silhouette Boutique. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18 Silver Oak Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Small Business Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A25 Smith Infiniti of Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F9-F10 SportsMed Orthopaedic Surgery and Spine Center . . . . . . . W2 State Farm Insurance - Lara Bryant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10 Sterling Travel American Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B22 Synapse Wireless, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A22 Terra Bacio SalonSpa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Tom Jeffreys Sign & Banner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D16 UAHuntsville Professional & Continuing Studies . . . . . . . . . C22 University Fitness Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H12 Valley Imaging Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W27 Valpak of North Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A29 WAAY Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C21 WAFF-TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Corner A WAY-FM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D25 WHDF-15, The Valley’s CW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F13-F14 Windemere Cove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9 WLRH Public Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D10 WBCNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E9 Workwell Occupational Health Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H5 WZZN Radio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F5-F6 Yellow Book USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B25 Yulista. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A16 Initiatives October 2012

Initi_10-03_N.indd 39

BUSINESS EXPO

2012 Business EXPO Booth Listing

39

9/19/12 2:08:51 PM

SPOTLIGHT ON SMALL BUSINESS: 2012 Small Business Award Winner: 51-350 Employees Category

In 1998, AEgis Technologies Group, Inc. won a Small Business Award in the technology category with just 60 employees. Today they have grown to four times that size at 260 employees, and just won the 2012 Small Business Award for companies with 51-350 employees. Initiatives caught up with AEgis co-founder and CEO Steve Hill to find out how he achieved entrepreneurial success.

A brief history of AEgis Technologies Group ...

Bill Waite and I founded the AEgis Technologies Group here in Huntsville in 1989. We won our first prime contract in 1991, and we exploded in growth. In 1994, 1995 and 1996, Inc. Magazine recognized AEgis as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the U.S. By 1999, we had opened offices in Alexandria, Va.; Orlando, Fla.; and Albuquerque, N.M. We celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2009 with the opening of our new 50,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Cummings Research Park. The new building was not only a proud achievement for the AEgis team, but also a symbol of the company’s commitment to expand its modeling, simulation and nanotechnology presence in Alabama.

Today, AEgis employs over 260 people of exceptional caliber, and has over $60 million in annual revenue.

As president and CEO, I provide ongoing executive direction of the AEgis Technologies’ 260+ employees and its subsidiary organizations, divisions and operations spanning 12 locations in ten states.

Q: What services does AEgis offer and tell us about any areas of specialization?

A: AEgis Technologies specializes in modeling and simulation (M&S) products and services including simulation software and training simulators, geospatial databases, warfighter exercise support, systems engineering and hardware-in-the-loop simulation.

We also have the AEgis Nanogenesis Division that excels in advancing innovative nanoscale technologies from concept to deployment with applications ranging from defense to energy to biotechnology.

Some of our most recent projects include: • The creation of a geospatial database of London and all of the Olympic venues to insure the security of athletes at the London Summer Olympics 40

L-R: AEgis Technologies Group CFO Rodney Kreps, CEO Steve Hill, COO Lance Cooper accept their award from Rey Almodóvar, Chamber Vice Chair for Economic Development.

• Delivery of a large (10-ton, 28’ tall, 25’ diameter) full motion Bell 412 helicopter simulator to the Royal Saudi Air Force to train pilots • Delivery of more than 3,000 licenses of our VAMPIRETM Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) simulator to the US Army to train UAS operators • Development of the Missile Airframe Simulation Testbed (MAST) — a recoverable missile for supporting missile development and multiple test and evaluation flights • Development of laser eye protection film similar to UV protection in sun glasses to protect our warfighters and commercial pilot’s eyes from laser threats • Delivery of high tech MEMS sensor meshes to test and characterize Directed Energy weapons and High Energy Lasers

Q: What has been your company’s greatest achievement?

A: Building a culture where outstanding, talented people can pursue their individual career aspirations and make a difference in the world in a creative, innovative environment of trust and the highest integrity.

I also have to acknowledge that we have doubled the size and revenue of our company since the recession started in 2008, something I attribute to the successful efforts of the entire AEgis Team.

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One of AEgis’ simulation products – VAMPIRE®: Visualization And Mission Planning Integrated Rehearsal Environment, a mission planning and operator training solution for Raven®, Puma™, and Wasp™ Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

Q: What goals do you have for AEgis for the next five to 10 years?

A: We continue to achieve substantial growth by doubling our company’s revenues every five years, and we want to increase shareholder value and improve our profit margins through efficiency and the development of commercial markets.

We will also invest in our workforce through education, training and technical and leadership development; further diversify our services and product offerings into commercial industries outside the Aerospace/DoD segment such as medical, energy, and entertainment; and we will pay it forward by giving back through service and financial support of charitable and civic organizations to improve the quality of life and health of our community.

Q: What does it mean to you, both personally and professionally, to receive the Small Business Award for companies with 51-350 employees?

A: I was extremely surprised and humbled by receiving the Russell Brown Executive Leadership Award and by AEgis Technologies receiving the Small Business of the Year in the newly established and extremely competitive small business domain. These are absolutely team awards.

AEgis is a wonderful group of hard working, smart people that I am privileged to lead.

There are so many great organizations and talented executives in our community.

It is truly an honor to be selected from among these exceptional companies and leaders. This level of public validation of our hard work and accomplishments is truly special to everyone at AEgis.

Q: How has being active in the Chamber helped you?

A: The Chamber is such an outstanding advocate of small business and provides so many outlets to training, education, mentoring and networking with other small and many large business within our community that any small business can - and AEgis certainly has - benefited from being involved in Chamber activities.

The visibility is critical to our reputation. Recruiting talent and networking with our community is essential to our development of partnerships and growth as an organization. We have also developed valued relationships within the banking, legal, accounting, and other advisory businesses that are crucial to our business success.

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Where Tomorrow Happens Today, continued from page 27 –

CRP Facts:

Current Tenants:

• Zoning: Restricted zoning for technology industries

• Fortune 500 companies

CRP Key Industries: • Software Design • Engineering Services • Aerospace & Defense • Computers & Electronics • Research & Development • Biotechnology

• Award-winning small businesses • Local entrepreneurial startups • BizTech - tech business incubator • Higher education - 9,800 students • Technology-oriented high schools • HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology • Ala. Supercomputer Authority • Academic and non-profit research centers • Gov. and military research facilities • Bridge Street Town Centre

Owned Com mployee pan y An E

nn u ov Tr ati on T an hat M ou C atters…Experience Y

I

Avion is an Employee-Owned Small Business highly regarded as a Leader in the U.S. Army Aviation community. Avion has been recognized for delivering a broad range of high quality Specialized Engineering, Software Development, Logistics and Technical Services. Our employees have a passion to support the Soldier. Avion provides rewarding careers for innovative technical professionals that strive for excellence and that share our Mission of Supporting the Warfighter!

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• Highway Access: I-565 (Adjacent), I-65 (15-Minute Drive)

• International technology-based companies

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• Air Access: Huntsville International Airport (10-Minute Drive)

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Avion is an Employee-Owned Small Business

4905 Research Drive NW • Huntsville, AL 35805 • (256) 721-7006 • Fax: (256) 721-7007 42

adapter and the existing copper wiring between the home and the distribution point in the network, the service provider can route power back to the UBE. Morgan terms this powering breakthrough as a “radical change from the former paradigm” and a major innovation.

The last hurdle to address is packaging.

For UBE to be successful, ADTRAN had to design a means for this solution to be installed practically anywhere – on a telephone pole, in a pedestal on the side of the road, or even in a manhole. The company has developed a solution that is hermetically sealed, can withstand most weather conditions and can be mounted practically anywhere.

The Internet changed the world by the mid-1990s, allowing millions of computers to talk together. Now a Huntsville-based company, Synapse Wireless, has developed a technology that allows machines to talk together in a similar manner. It could change monitoring and controlling devices in the computer age, said Synapse co-founder Wade Patterson.

The CRP firm operates in a unique environment: The development of wireless technology for monitoring and control applications. Its SNAP wireless networking, which can be described as the “Internet of things,” is an Internet-enabled system that can operate over a wide range of microprocessors and minicomputers.

SNAP is a system of hardware and software technologies that enables simple control and monitoring of low-power embedded systems. The company says it includes tools and software to program everything from tiny 8-bit microcontrollers to Internet servers on the cloud.

Control possibilities are virtually endless, and include such diverse applications as monitoring the efficiency of solar panels to the washing of hands by medical personnel to prevent hospital staph infections. SNAP can be used in solar monitoring systems to monitor fields of solar panels.

The SNAP technology is indicative of the types of technology research and development has made CRP one of the most unique and successful R&D parks in the world for the last 50 years.

• Mike Kelley

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