A word from NDIA's Vice President of Operations.

• Author: Bates, Barry D.
• Position: 2009 MEGA DIRECTORY - National Defense Industrial Association

Dear NDIA Members:

To those of you who have generously contributed your time and talent to serve in Divisions, Industrial Committees, Chapters and Affiliates to advance NDIA's Advocate, Promote & Provide mission, or who have participated in NDIA-sponsored events as speakers, panelists or attendees, .... "Thank You!"... for your contributions and your steadfast support. Sincere thanks also goes out to those companies who have supported NDIA events through the generosity of their sponsorships.

For those who may be reading this MegaDirectory for the first time (or for the f'trst time in a long time), please take a good look at the thirty-two Divisions now operational within NDIA. I've listed them just below, and you can read a short summary of each one in the succeeding pages. As the primary vehicle for getting our corporate member representatives involved, Divisions provide the platform for much of NDIA's educational efforts in the form of conferences, symposia, workshops, seminars, etc. They also offer exceptional opportunities for networking with other business associates who possess similar interests, and with government officials who often use their NDIA contacts to gain insight into industry's views on a variety of topics.

I also strongly encourage readers to review the Calendar of Events in the MegaDirectory. The broad portfolio of conferences, symposia, seminars and other forums executed by NDIA and its affiliates offer industry a multitude of opportunities to gain business intelligence and network with both government and industry representatives. The annual Calendar of Events in this issue is intended to provide you with advanced information with which to plan your activities through the end of government fiscal year 2010. The array of conferences and exhibitions touch virtually every sector of defense industry and technology.

Our research tells us the benefits and opportunities our corporate members value most highly are the opportunities for gathering business intelligence gained from speakers and panelists at NDIA conferences and symposia, being kept abreast of industry trends and developments by reading National Defense Magazine...