Mr. Coppedge Goes to Washington, Part IV: The Voyage Home

Bob Coppedge to Visit Washington to Champion IT Industry Priorities and Annoy PeopleSmall to medium businesses like most of our customers as well as Simplex-IT are the lifeblood of our national economy. SMB's employ more than half of the country’s private sector workforce, and account for a majority of economic growth.  And a lot of that growth comes from the appropriate use of Information Technology (IT).For the 4th year in a row, I’m going to Washington DC and talk to lawmakers and their staff about issues pertinent to companies like us.Simplex-IT is proud to be part of the economy right here in Ohio.  Our growth is dependent on providing IT services to organizations that value their own use of IT.I was thrilled to join forces with fellow IT colleagues to advocates in Washington, D.C., on February 5-6, to speak with Members of Congress about issues that are critical to the future of my business and the overall tech industry.The annual DC Fly-In is organized by CompTIA to advocate on behalf of the tech community. CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, represents technology companies of all sizes and is committed to expanding market opportunities, helping companies create jobs, and enhancing the competitiveness of the U.S. technology industry around the world.Innovation is a key force behind a strong 21st century economy, and our leaders should prioritize issues that affect growing companies like those that we’re fortunate enough to work with.While in Washington I’ll visit with the offices of both Senators for Ohio as well as several Congressfolks.  While there I’ll be discussing critical issues such as workforce development, cybersecurity, broadband communications and digital privacy—all are central to our industry. These legislative issues are key ingredients for helping technology firms like ours to become more competitive.On Wednesday each attendee will gather with other folks from their state to meet with reps from their state.  Many states have a lot of representation.  Unfortunately, Ohio hasn’t had a lot of representation (at least the years I’ve participated).  In fact for the last two years Ohio has only had 2 representatives.Yup, only 2.And I’m one of them.Let that sink in for a moment<g>.