Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium Focuses on Advancing the Public's Agenda.

COVITS 2006:

Governor Kaine, Secretary Chopra, and Over 50 State and Local
    Government and Education Sector Speakers to Address Key Issues
             Driving the Future of Technology in Virginia

What/When:                    COVITS 2006
                              September 10-12, 2006

Where:                        The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center
                              110 Shenandoah Avenue
                              Roanoke, Virginia

COVITS (the Commonwealth of Virginia's Innovative Technology
Symposium) annually brings together a community of senior-level
executives and thought leaders from state and local government,
business, and academia to identify, discuss and propose solutions to
Virginia's critical technology issues. The conference, in its eighth
year, is hosted by Virginia's Secretary of Technology, Aneesh P.
Chopra, on behalf of Governor Timothy M. Kaine.

COVITS is nationally recognized as a premier forum to discuss
technology requirements, share valuable lessons from actual case
studies, and glimpse the future of government interaction with its
customers. COVITS 2006 will tackle some of the most pressing needs in
the Commonwealth -elevating our quality of life through "intelligent"
transportation systems, protecting our families through electronic
medical records, and educating tomorrow's workforce through
distance-learning initiatives. At the same time, COVITS will continue
to showcase Virginia's leadership role in applying public-private
partnerships to the challenges of maintaining and advancing its
technology infrastructure.

COVITS will feature remarks by:

    --  The Honorable Timothy M. Kaine, Governor, Commonwealth of
        Virginia
    --  The Honorable Aneesh P. Chopra, Secretary of Technology,
        Commonwealth of Virginia
    --  The Honorable Eugene J. Huang, White House Fellow and former
        Secretary of Technology, Commonwealth of Virginia
    --  The Honorable Donald W. Upson, Principal Partner, ICG
        Consulting and former Secretary of Technology, Commonwealth of
        Virginia
    --  The Honorable Rick Boucher, U.S. House of Representatives
    --  The Honorable Bob Goodlatte, U.S. House of Representatives
    --  Lemuel C. Stewart, Jr., Chief Information Officer,
        Commonwealth of Virginia

The following keynote presenters will provide their vision on
leadership and innovative technologies:

    --  C.K. Prahalad, Distinguished Professor of Corporate Strategy,
        University of Michigan Ross School of Business.
        Keynote Presentation: Sunday, September 10,
        8:20 p.m. - 9:15 p.m.

    --  John Halamka, M.D., Chief Information Officer Harvard Medical
        School.
        Keynote Presentation: Monday, September 11,
        12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

    --  Theodore Rappaport, William and Bettye Nowlin Chair in
        Engineering, Director, Wireless Networking and Communications
        Group, University of Texas at Austin
        Keynote Presentation: Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. - 11:40 a.m.

Some additional notes of interest for the media at COVITS 2006
include:

Governor's Technology Awards, Monday, September 11,
9:10 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.

Featured Speakers: Donald W. Upson, Principal Partner, ICG
Consulting and former Secretary of Technology, Commonwealth of
Virginia; Cathilea Robinett, Executive Director, Center for Digital
Government
Awards Presenters: Secretary Chopra and Cathilea Robinett

Session Details: The seventh annual Governor's Technology Awards
program honors outstanding achievements and recognizes innovative
technology initiatives in the public sector throughout the
Commonwealth of Virginia.

Concurrent Breakout Sessions on Transportation, Healthcare and
Education, led by government agency heads with participation by
industry, Sunday, September 11, 10:15 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
    --  Session A: Smart Transportation Technologies
    --  Session B: Telework for Continuity of Operations
    --  Session C: Regional Health Information Organization
    --  Session D: Electronic Health Records
    --  Session E: Technology in Education

Virginia's Technology Transformation: A Partnership for the Future,
Monday, September 11, 2:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Presenters: Fred Duball, Director, Service Management Organization,
VITA; Joseph Fay, Project Director, IT Infrastructure Partnership,
Northrop Grumman;

Moderator: Aneesh P. Chopra, Secretary of Technology, Commonwealth
of Virginia

Panelists: Constance McGeorge, Special Assistant to the Governor,
Commonwealth Preparedness; Sanford Hosteller, ITS Manager, Virginia
Dept. of Mental Health, Mental Health Retardation and Substance Abuse
Services; Pam Staggs, Director of IT, City of Norfolk; Sandie Terrie,
Director of IT, Franklin County; Kathy Cox, Assistant Director of
Technology, City of Roanoke; John B. Noftsinger, Jr., Associate Vice
President of Academic Affairs for Research and Public Service, James
Madison University; Bill Hunter, Infrastructure Services Manager,
Roanoke County; Steve Jones, Director of Technology, Town of
Blacksburg

Session Details: Virginia's 10-year, $2 billion IT Infrastructure
Partnership between the Virginia Information Technologies Agency
(VITA) and Northrop Grumman is designed to standardize and modernize
the Commonwealth's IT infrastructure capabilities to better serve
Commonwealth agencies, higher education institutions, private sector
businesses, and citizens. This presentation and panel discussion
examines the opportunity to leverage the benefits of this
precedent-setting public-private partnership for all levels of
government and in all regions of Virginia.

Virginia's Enterprise Applications for Government Partnership: Is ERP
Ready to Become a Utility? Monday, September 11, 3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Moderator: Dan Keene, Vice President and Virginia Enterprise
Application Program Engagement Manager, CGI-AMS

Panelists: Martin Benison, Comptroller, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts; Jack Belcher, Chief Information Officer, Arlington
County; Kevin S. Parikh, Vice President, Gartner Consulting

Session Details: Traditional government acquisition of an ERP
system requires a substantial investment, which is often a challenge
for legislatures to justify funding when compared to citizen-centric
needs. Advances in ERP technology, coupled with the aging of the
government workforce, offer a real opportunity for governments to
investigate converting ERP expenditures into a utility model, avoiding
future competition with the private sector for scarce and expensive
ERP talent. This panel will discuss the viability and challenges of
this approach.

Concurrent Breakout Sessions on the "Strategic Plan for IT" in Action,
Tuesday, September 12, 9:20 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

    --  Session A: Pod casts and Portals: Next Generation Access to
        Government Services and Information
    --  Session B: A Best Practice Model for Collaborative Software
        Development
    --  Session C: Security: Ensuring Trust and Reliability Across
        Government Systems
    --  Session D: Enterprise Investment Management - Tracking Return
        on Investment for IT
    --  Session E: Technology-Enabled Government Workforce: Keys to
        Productivity

Rural Technologies: Broadband, Telemedicine, Distance Learning,
Tuesday, September 12, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Moderator: Karen Jackson, Vice President Broadband Programs, Center
for Innovative Technology

Panelists: Karen S. Rheuban, M.D., Medical Director, University of
Virginia Office of Telemedicine; Eric Brewer, Intel Research Lab,
University of California, Berkeley; Tad Deriso, General Manager,
Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative; Jeff Crowder, Project Director,
Communications Network Services, Virginia Tech

Emergency Preparedness and Response: Federal, State and Local
Planning and Perspectives, Tuesday, September 12,
12:45 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Panelists: Bob Crouch, Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth
Preparedness; Jack Belcher, Chief Information Officer, Arlington
County; Robert Clark, Manager, Business Continuity and Emergency
Management Group, Verizon Business; Philip Broadfoot, Chief of Police,
City of Danville

Session Details: This session discusses lessons from last year's
devastating hurricane season and how these lessons are being
incorporated into federal, state and local plans for preparing and
responding to future natural disasters, in particular, planning for a
potential pandemic flu outbreak. This panel will also discuss the
resources that can be shared among the response planning community and
teams for domestic terrorism, natural disasters, and healthcare
crises.

Exhibit Hall Hours
Sunday, September 10,  6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Monday, September 11,  7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m., 9:50 a.m. - 11: 50 a.m.,
                       1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 12, 7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m., 9:20 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

For More Information:
http://www.covits.org

Press Registration:

Registration is complimentary to accredited members of the press. As
a registered Member of the Press, you are invited to attend and audit
conference sessions and keynotes at no charge. We encourage you to
visit our sponsors during the exhibition hours and receptions. Please
be sure to bring your Press Credentials to pick up your badge on-site.

To register, contact:

Mary Alice Johnson
ConnellyWorks, Inc.
[phone]
[e-mail]