[Archived] Alexandria Technology Achievement Award Winner Announced

Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille and Information Technology Commission Chairman Mark McLindon announced the winner of the 8th Annual Alexandria Technology Achievement Award on Friday, March 19. Defense Group, Inc., a small high technology services and hardware company located in Alexandria, was named the winner at a luncheon held at the Radisson Old Town in Alexandria. The luncheon served as the climax of Alexandria Technology Achievement Week and showcased advancements in the development and application of technology by Alexandria-based businesses.

Defense Group, Inc., was recognized for their development of the Chemical Biological Response Aide, or CoBRA, an emergency response system that provides first responders with the necessary data resources and interactive tools to supply practical, step-by-step actions for managing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) incidents. CoBRA has been deployed to more than 2,000 first responders, including all FBI-certified bomb squads, numerous National Guard WMD Civil Support teams, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Pentagon Force Protection and many fire and police departments nationwide.

The 2004 Technology Award finalists included Defense Group, Inc., Redmon Group, Inc., and The Templar Corporation - a ChoicePoint Company. A panel of three judges, representing the technology industry, evaluated each nomination on the basis of technological achievement and its impact on the business, its industry, and/or the City of Alexandria. The judges were David Speck, Managing Director-Investments at Wachovia Securities, LLC; David Lantzy, a member of the City’s Commission on Information Technology; and Joe Landa, representing BriarTek, Inc., the winner of the 2003 Alexandria Technology Achievement Award.

Alexandria Technology Achievement Week and the Alexandria Technology Achievement Award are sponsored cooperatively by the City of Alexandria, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Inc. The award was created in 1997 by the City’s Commission on Information Technology . The Commission is comprised of members of the Alexandria City School Board, the Chamber of Commerce, the Library Board, City telecommunications providers, citizens, Vice Mayor Del Pepper and Councilman Rob Krupicka.

Alexandria is at the center of Northern Virginia's technology industry. Currently, more than 350 technology firms employ nearly 13,000 workers in the City of Alexandria.