Purpose
Mid-America Technology Alliance (MATA) hosts monthly Tech Group Leader meetings to help local tech-focused groups discuss activities happening in the tech community, and to encourage groups to collaborate, cross-promote, and coordinate efforts to build a stronger tech community.
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Groups Represented
- Jason Arend (MATA)
- Scott Bratcher (Creatives)
- Sherry Coker (MATA)
- Mica Cooper (SpfdTech)
- Nathan Gregg (Creatives)
- Jason Klein (MATA, H4G)
- Kymberly Nelms (GO CAPS)
- Paige Oxendine (eFactory)
- Maranda Jo Provance (TGF, WIT)
- Heath Rust (DreamIT, TIO)
- Dave Sharon (AITP)
- Mike West (Data Science)
- Beth Young (SpfdSec, BSides)
Welcome New Tech Group Leaders!
- Amber Gillenwaters (Google Developer Group, Co-Organizer)
- Kymberly Nelms (GO CAPS, Instructor)
- Mike West (Data Science, Organizer)
April Agenda
- Recap Recent Events
- Discuss Upcoming Events
- eFactory Pitch Contest (was Spin66) (05/15) – Paige Oxendine
- BSides Spfd (07/13)
- Maker Faire (10/05)
- Hack 4 Good (11/01)
- Tech Award Nominations (2020)
- MATA Updates
- Job Board – Jason Klein
- MATA Memberships – Jason Arend
- Review Annual Event List
- Group Updates
Agenda Discussion
Recent Events
No updates
Upcoming Events
05/15 eFactory Pitch Contest (Paige Oxendine) efactory.missouristate.edu
- Replaces former Spin66 Event
- Please share event and encourage your members to attend facebook.com/events/766662023734194/
- Tech Group Leaders can register for free EFAM19. DO NOT share with public.
07/13 BSides Spfd (Beth Young) securitybsides.com/w/page/116970567/BSidesSpfd
- Looking for Sponsors to pay actual costs of Badges, Lanyards, Breakfast, Snacks, Sodas, Lunch, etc.
- Free Registration (limit 150) eventbrite.com/e/bsidesspfd2019-tickets-60675832047
- Call for Papers Deadline May 15th
- Drury Confirmed Venue for July 13th
10/05 Maker Faire (Deb Wilson) theozarks.makerfaire.com
- Looking for Sponsors
- Hosting at OTC
11/01 Hack 4 Good (Jason Klein) hack4goodsgf.com
- Looking for Project Committee and Promotion Committee Leaders/Volunteers
- Announcing Call for Projects soon
2020 Tech Award Nominations (Dave Sharon) biz417.com/techawards
- TBD Date (02/27 or 03/05), Location, Categories
- Will finalize details and open nominations soon!
Regional Events for Tech Calendar fwdsgf.com
- 04/12 BSidesOK bsidesok.com
- 04/26-04/27 Wichita Maker Faire wichita.makerfaire.com
MATA Updates matasgf.com
- Job Board – Jason Klein matasgf.com/job-search/
- MATA Memberships – Jason Arend matasgf.com/join/
- Review Annual Event List (attached)
Group Updates
Women in Technology (Maranda Provance) facebook.com/groups/sgfwit/
- Meetings moved to every 2nd Thursday of the month
- 05/09 Speaker Sarah Evans will discuss her pivot from general IT to Cybersecurity
Geek Foundation (Maranda Provance) thegeekfoundation.org
- Girls Who Code clubs at 3 of 4 Boys and Girls Club of Springfield locations
- May be launching new GWC club at Republic Middle School
- Launching new Coder Dojo program. Curriculum details:
- Kids come and do activities in online portal.
- Similar to Hour of Code, but each activity takes 60-90 minutes.
- Already recruited volunteers. Begin planning events in next month or so.
- May alternate locations each month between Library Station, Midtown Library, and Library Center
- Coding Bootcamp or Similar to Springfield?
- Bootcamps are very expensive and intensive. High cost and full time classes are not an option for everyone. Trying to find alternate solution with online tools and mentorship where people can come several times per week to check in.
AITP of the Ozarks (Dave Sharon) aitpozarks.org
- 04/17 Meeting – Managing Security Incidents. 70-80 attendance.
- 05/14 Cybersecurity Workshop – IoT Workshop
- 05/15 Monthly Meeting
- 09/16 Golf Tournament
- IT Leadership Workshop
- Previously hosted by Gary Blackard CIO Evangel
- Looking for new group host/leader suggestions
- Jeff Morrisey MSU about to retire
- Suggestions – Randy Mayes, Don Harkey
- Others? Email to president@aitpozarks.org
TECH Springfield (Mica Cooper) meetup.com/TechSpringfield/
- Based on TECH Toronto (TECH Retail, TECH Health, TECH Travel, TECH Entertainment)
- Past Presenters from Tech Leaders – Tylor Hindery, Mike West, Nathan (Creatives)
- Monthly on 3rd Monday
- 05/20 – Tim Baynes, compat.io
Springfield Creatives (Nathan Gregg) springfieldcreatives.com
- 04/17 – 4th Annual Studio Crawl facebook.com/events/2018823975087023/
- 05/15 – Giving Your Brand a Voice facebook.com/events/2155380451440924/
- 06/19(?) – Street Art Event @ Dickerson Park Zoo
Google Developer Group (Amber Gillenwaters) meetup.com/GDG-Springfield/
- Local GDG organizers recently attended the GDG Summit in Miami
- TensorFlow update – Open sourced algorithms they are using in their company. Discussed many use cases, including medical imaging.
- GDG organizers from other areas were surprised to hear about GDG Springfield collaboration with other local tech groups at Springfield Tech Group Leader meetings. It sounds like this type of collaboration is very rare.
- Google I/O Extended events.google.com/io/extended/
- Late 2019 – Hosting Google DevFest @ Alamo Drafthouse
- Collaboration on Joint meetings.
- Connecting with MSU Computer Science students and introducing them to eFactory
Data Science After Dark (Mike West) meetup.com/Data-Science-After-Dark/
- Work with other groups and co-sponsor some things
- Find companies working on analytics in Springfield and bring them together
- Will begin meeting in May or June?
DreamIT MakeIT (Heath Rust) meetup.com/Springfield-MakeIT-Meetup/
- 05/02 Hydroponics and Aquaponics @ South Library Center
- August – Introduction to Bartending @ Missouri Spirits
- September – Coffee Crawl Fundraiser – Two Weeks (09/14-09/28?)
- Creating New Slack Channel for Makers in Community
SpfdSec (Beth Young) spfdsec.org
- 04/24 Social @ SBC
- 05/22 Social @ SBC
ISACA She Leads Tech (Sherry Coker) engage.isaca.org/springfieldmissourichapter
- 06/07 (11:30am) SheLeadsTech Luncheon facebook.com/events/643338902777013/
- 06/21 (11:30am) Chapter Luncheon facebook.com/events/2303913376529641/
GO CAPS (Kym Nelms) gocaps.yourcapsnetwork.org/events/
- 04/24 (6pm) Hosting Student Capstone Showcase @ Mercy Auditorium
- One group learned how to code, wrote checkers game w/ Microsoft Hololens
- Another group learned TensorFlow and designed system that identifies objects on a conveyor belt
- Looking for community help and partners in September and October
06/07 SGF YP Forum (Tyler Drenon) facebook.com/events/565289653954909/
- Expecting 250-300 young professionals to attend. Please share with YPs!
- Register Online ($65) eventbrite.com/e/sgforum-tickets-50762594286
- Hosted by Springfield Chamber at Veridian Event Center
- Invited MATA to distribute information about tech community to attendees
Representatives from Student Organizations (Nathan Greg)
- Please share specific contact at universities.
- Nathan has contacts at MSU. Needs introductions at OTC, Evangel, Drury.
- Dave will provide intro to AITP MSU
- Sherry will provide intro to OTC and Ava HS
- Nathan will send out informal invitations and manage/limit lunch attendance
MATA – Slack Channel List matasgf.com/events/resources/
- New: Springfield WIT springfield-wit.slack.com
- Coming Soon: MakeIT
Adjourn 1:05pm
Save the date! Tech Group Leaders typically meet 3rd Thursday 12-1pm. Be sure to join the Tech Leader channel on MATA Slack! Join @ matasgf.com/slack
Next Meeting: Thursday May 16th 2019 (12-1pm) @ The eFactory – Reply to Calendar Invite: “YES” to sign up for lunch, “MAYBE” if you are bringing your own lunch.