VECTEC Reorganizes Advisory Board To Guide
Growth as it Moves to the Next Level
In September, VECTEC reorganized its Advisory Board with the help of one of its first clients and longtime advocate, Mr. Leroy Newman, President and CEO of Peninsula Software of Virginia, and sponsor of the PenSoft E-Business Center at VECTEC.
Mr. Newman will serve as Chair of the 10-member Board that includes some of Virginia’s top business leaders and educators.
“Board members are very enthusiastic about being a part of this important public/private partnership with the primary objective of helping businesses grow through the effective use of e-commerce,” Mr. Newman said. |
Leroy Newman, CEO Pensoft and
Bill Muir, Director VECTEC |
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| New Workforce Development Project Targets Shortfall of Advanced Manufacturing Technicians |
 According to U.S. Census Bureau data*, Virginia’s manufacturing sector has the largest absolute number of employees between the ages of 55 and 64 (47,037) of any sector of the state’s economy. This data implies that approximately 15.4 percent of Virginia’s current manufacturing workforce will likely retire within the next 10 years.
Complicating this picture is the rapid pace at which manufacturing technologies are evolving and the inability of technical education programs to keep up. As a result, Virginia is facing an unprecedented shortage of advanced manufacturing technicians.
Given current trends, it is estimated that Virginia’s technical education programs will produce only 10 to 20 percent of the required numbers to fill manufacturing employment needs, placing an uncompetitive burden on manufacturers and potentially discouraging new manufacturers from locating in the Commonwealth.
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A Little Less Spam In Your Diet
by Bob VanderClay, VECTEC e-Commerce Solutions Architect
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If you have an email address—you will eventually get spam. Unfortunately, there isn't a universal solution to preventing unsolicited emails. Fortunately, you can take a number of steps to avoid and reduce the amount of spam you receive.
The first and best defense against spam is to protect your email address and to prevent spammers from obtaining it in the first place. Here are some simple strategies you can use to keep your email address safe: |
- Install anti-virus software and keep it up to date. Many viruses collect email addresses from infected computers. Make sure your friends and family do the same—your email address is likely on their computer too! There are several free or low-cost software options to choose from. AVG is a great choice, and it's free for personal use. http://free.grisoft.com
- Disguise your email address on your website, blogs and message boards. Spammers use software to scan websites looking for anything that appears to be an email address. The easiest way to disguise your email address is to spell it out using plain words. For example, "bob dot vanderclay at vectec dot org."
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VECTEC Fall 2007 Short Course Series
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VECTEC’s educational program has grown dramatically in terms of course content and the regions we are able to serve. This fall, we are offering a variety of e-commerce courses, dates and locations.
Fall short courses include e-commerce topics, customer service on the web, internet security, online marketing, website design and content development.
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>> Read More Course Descriptions and Register Online
Welcome to Our New Clients
VECTEC has been pleased to welcome the following companies to our team over the last few months! We encourage everyone to visit our new members' websites once they have been completed.
VECTEC Guest Book
VECTEC continues to partner with business and political leaders from across the state to spur economic growth in the Commonwealth. During the summer and early fall, we were pleased to welcome the following guests to our offices:
- David Smith, Virginia’s Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Trade
- Kathy Dolan, Dave Fuller, Tammy Farmer and Tiffany Taylor-Minor
of the Virginia Department of Business Assistance
- The Honorable Rosalyn Dance, Virginia House of Delegates, 63rd District
- Latonya Reed, Legislative Assistant for Delegate Dance
- The Honorable Ross Kearney, Mayor, City of Hampton
- Jesse Wallace, City Manager, City of Hampton
- Brett Vassey, President and CEO of Virginia Manufacturer's Association
- Susan Milhoan, President and CEO of Retail Alliance
- Ray Mattes and Jodi Weigand of Retail Alliance
- Vandy Jones, Manager of the Office of Economic Development, City of Petersburg
- Cindy Cave, Prince George County Office of Economic Development
- Kevin Hughes, Senior Business Development Manager,
Suffolk Department of Economic Development
- Teresa Beale, Franklin Chamber of Commerce
- Dottie Jordan and Cathy Wagner of the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
- Guy Manchester, Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
and Financial Security Management, Inc.
- Beth Moore, Ralph Patrick and Victor Sparber of the
Copeland Industrial Park Association
- Howard Jordan, Copeland Industrial Park Association and Bennette Paint Manufacturing Company
- Diane Howerton, Crater SBDC-Petersburg
- Debra Farley, Hampton Roads SBDC
- Sheri McGuire, Director of Longwood SBDC
- Christine Ledford, University Auditor, Christopher Newport University
- Tom Osha, Old Dominion University
- Anne Hutchens, Owner, Hidenwood Pharmacy
- Carlton Campbell, Randolph Real Estate
We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our visitors for taking time out of their busy schedules to visit VECTEC and learn more about our efforts to support Virginia businesses through e-commerce.
We would like to welcome Jennifer Maurer of the BrandingHouse as our new Editor of the VECTEC Connections Newsletter. If you have any suggestions for content for the newsletter, please feel free to contact us today at info@vectec.org.
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