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“Power of Place” Spurs Symposium Growth Event success comes at key time for the geospatial industry as location information becomes more available and important, says USGIF president. Reflecting the continued growth and expansion in the idea of “the power of place,” the numbers of attendees and exhibitors at the GEOINT 2011 Symposium are expected to reach record levels for the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s annual event, according to USGIF President Keith Masback. “I’m pretty confident based on our trending data that we’re going to eclipse our all-time attendance record, set last year. To put it in perspective, we had about 3,200 people here in San Antonio in 2009, and about 4,100 in Keith Masback New Orleans last year. We’re looking to exceed that this year,” Masback said in an interview shortly before the opening of the event, which gets underway this morning with the Pre-Symposium Science & Technology Forum. Noting that the number of exhibitors will reach 250 this year, compared with about 200 in 2009, and about 220 last year, Masback observed, “We are both excited and humbled by this remarkable growth and the amount of interest and support in our event.” Along with indicators such as the number of applicants for scholarships and the number of schools that are seeking accreditation to grant GEOINT Certificates, the numbers for the Symposium are key metrics for measuring the success of USGIF, he said. “If we’re seeing growth in exhibitors and attendees, that validates that we’re doing something positive and valuable for the community. People vote ‘with their feet,’ their time and their dwindling resources to make our largest annual event one of their priorities for the year.” The growth of the event comes at a fascinating time for the geospatial industry, as location information becomes more available and more important to everything that goes on throughout the intelligence, defense, homeland security communities and Continued On pAGE 3
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DigitalGlobe’s New Navigator Looking forward to his first Symposium, President and CEO Tarr voices excitement and commitment to the GEOINT industry and its mission. At GEOINT 2011 Symposium, DigitalGlobe (Booth 337) will be introducing two new services, which will underscore its role as one of the leading players in the commercial remote sensing industry. But it will also in effect be making another important introduction to the geospatial intelligence industry, of its new president and chief executive officer. Jeff Tarr, who joined the company in April from a different but adjacent industry, will be attending his first GEOINT Symposium this year in San Antonio. In an interview shortly before the conference, he displayed enthusiasm and excitement about the field he has joined, combined with an eagerness to reach out to others attending the industry’s leading annual event. “In a sense, I’m new to this industry, although I’m not new to the business of information, insight and intelligence,” said Tarr, who previously served as president and chief operating officer of IHS, a company that among other things operates the Jane’s family of military information resources. “What I see in this industry, of which DigitalGlobe is a part, is really incredible. At the GEOINT 2011 Symposium, we’ll see 4,000 people coming Continued On pAGE 4
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