Will All of the Bobble Heads Please Stand Up?

As do most sales organizations, Kforce frequently motivates its employees with exciting incentives and opportunities to shine. As a Kforce 'rookie,' I have been part of one of our most recent contests, The Rookie Rally, which rewards the top rookies in each business line with one of the most unique prizes ever heard of- a custom bobble head of our CEO.

Well, if they hadn't sent me my very own Dave Dunkel bobble head, I wouldn't have believed it, but, I won The Rookie Rally for Kforce's Technology Division, and now I have my very own minature Dave Dunkel! He arrived last week, and although Ethan (my two-year-old) almost decapitated him on the car ride home, Dave did make it safely back to Kforce Orlando. As you'll see in the picture below, I am now proudly displaying my tiny CEO prominently on my desk. He is perched high atop my cube walls, keeping an eye on all I do.

The Tiniest CEO Ever

And, oh are my fellow cubies jealous. Rob Reading, my colleague on the Finance and Accounting team, won the rally fourth quarter last year, but his little CEO failed to arrive. I had to pry Dave away from him after this picture was snapped.

Rob Reading Coveting The Tiniest CEO Ever

So, if you're interested in meeting my CEO when I come out to visit just let me know. I may not be able to get him there in person, but I can certainly bring a life-like representation. And, naturally, if you've ever won a crazy corporate prize, I'd love to hear about it!

Central Florida Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Chapter Meeting

Just in case you're looking for a great new techie group to join, I thought I'd throw this one out there. Dan LoPresto of Brighthouse Networks recently introduced me to the Central Florida Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association. I attended the July meeting and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. If any of you plan to attend, let me know, and I'll see you there! You can register via the links below.

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The following are details for our next Central Florida Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Chapter Meeting.

Date: Tuesday August 12, 2008

Location: National Center for Forensic Science, Room 102, 12354 Research Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32826. Near University of Central Florida (UCF) NAVAIR station.

Drawing Prizes: Norton 360 (3-user license) and others!

Lunch: ISSA of Central FL will order sandwiches from Firehouse Subs, compliments of Protegrity. Meeting registration required, please click the following link to register: http://tinyurl.com/6z7pvb

There is no cost to attend this meeting and you need not be a member of ISSA. If you'd like to learn more about the ISSA and/or join, please click here: http://www.issa.org/Join.html Speaker: Ulf Mattsson, Chief Technology Officer, Protegrity Corporation

Speaker Bio:

Ulf T. Mattsson, Chief Technology Officer, Protegrity Corporation, created the initial architecture of Protegrity’s database security technology, for which the company owns several key patents. His extensive IT and security industry experience includes 20 years with IBM as a manager of software development and a consulting resource to IBM's Research and Development organization. He specializes in the areas of IT Architecture and IT Security. Ulf is the inventor of a number of European and U.S. patents in the areas of Encryption Key Management, Separation of Duties, Policy Driven Data Encryption, Internal Threat Protection, Data Usage Control, Dynamic Access Control, Intrusion Prevention and Cross System Layer Security. He holds a master's degree in physics, a degree in finance and a degree in electrical engineering. Ulf is an IBM Certified IT Architect and a research member of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) WG 11.3 Data and Application Security.

Presentation Title: Enterprise Data Protection - Understanding your Options and Strategies

Presentation Abstract:

The session will review the different options for data protection strategies for PCI DSS and other regulations. We will present case studies on data protection in an enterprise environment. We will position different solutions that can protect the enterprise data against advanced attacks from internal and external sources. We will show how to provide a balanced mix of different approaches to protect sensitive information like credit cards across different systems in the enterprise, including tokenization, encryption and hashing. We will show how to balance performance and security, in real-world scenarios, and recommend when to use encryption at the database level, application level and file level. This session will also present methods to protect the entire data flow across systems in an enterprise while minimizing the need for cryptographic services.
Review of case studies on enterprise data protection
How to prevent internal and external threats
Review solutions for enterprise data encryption and key management
How to prevent data misuse and advanced attacks on data
How to protect the entire enterprise data flow
How to develop a database encryption strategy balancing security, performance and other aspects
Review and position different solution alternatives

About Protegrity:

Protegrity, the leader in Enterprise Data Security Management, delivers centralized data security management solutions that protect sensitive information from acquisition to deletion across the enterprise.

Meeting Agenda:

11:00am
Arrival, Networking & Registration

11:30am
Speaker Presentation & Q&A

12:30pm
Lunch (Sandwiches & soda)

12:45pm
Raffle, Chapter Business and Wrap-up

1:00pm
Conclusion

'Kareforce' at Work

Recently, one of our valued Finance and Accounting consultants on assignment with Charles Schwab tragically lost her home to the lightning storms that passed through Central Florida. Liliana Rodriguez, a working mother of two, was left stranded and homeless as their house burned to the ground. This devastating disaster forced her family to move into a family member's spare bedroom until they figure out what to do next.

When we brought this to the attention of Ray Morganti, VP of Sales Operations at Kforce, he immediately went to the board of Fezzywig (Kforce's Charity Foundation). The Fezzywig board promptly voted YES in favor of assisting Liliana and her family. Because of this, we were able to surprise Liliana at work and give her a helping hand. Liliana and her family were presented with an $800 gift certificate to Wal-Mart, and a trip to Tampa to visit a special warehouse where she can get whatever she needs to start over again (furniture, appliances, and the like).

Tears of joy flowed all over the room as Liliana's co-workers and managers looked on. What an emotional moment!

This is just one of the stories we like to share with our partners and friends about how we work hard to really care for our consultants everyday.

Quote of the Day

“Never judge anyone until you have walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you judge them, you are a mile away and you have their shoes.”

-Anonymous

Kforce Clinical Research Wins Merck Award

Kris Ellis, President Kforce Clinical Research and Darlene Cassello, Strategic Account Director, accepted the Outstanding Operational Award for Clinical Development at the Merck Supplier Recognition Forum on Thursday, June 12.

Merck invited 75 strategic suppliers from around the world to this recognition event at their corporate headquarters in Whitehouse Station, NJ. The award presented to KCR was in recognition and appreciation for outstanding contributions to Merck’s success and business performance.

“This is very significant and a major accomplishment. For a firm of Merck’s values and history to recognize Kforce suggests a real validation of the business model and alignment of vision and values,” said Dave Dunkel, CEO.

Kforce was one of only thirteen suppliers to win an award. President of Health & Life Sciences, Pete Alonso said that it is an outstanding achievement for Kris Ellis and the KCR team.

Being recognized for its client-centric approach emphasizes KCR’s commitment to Kforce’s mission to be the firm most respected by those we serve.

“Our partners at Merck are wonderful people and our business relationship is both enjoyable and rewarding. It was such a great day,” said Ellis.

Great High-Level Consultants at Great Rates

If your organization is in need of specialized consultants for upcoming projects, we can help. We currently have numerous high-level consultants available at great rates! I have a spreadseet available that outlines skillsets and bill rates.

Some sample skillsets are Oracle Developers, SAS Programmers, .NET Developers, Technical Java Leads, and many more. Bill rates range from $59 to $74 per hour - all inclusive for contract assignments that are six months or longer.

Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about one of our great IT resources.

Kforce to Sponsor State of the Art Technology Center

The Gary & Mavis Smith Salesian Youth Center is the newest Boys & Girls Club center and Kforce is helping make it the best. The 142 acre center is now under construction and upon completion will include a state of the art technology center funded entirely by Kforce Jeans Days. The technology center will be equipped with large screen LCD TVs, 20 PCs and an electronic gaming center with Xbox and Wii systems.

Kforce’s sponsorship is unprecedented and will set a new standard for clubs to come, says the Boys & Girls Club. Take a look at the club under construction...

If you’re interested in learning about how you can support the Boys and Girls Clubs of America in Tampa or elsewhere, please contact Ray Morganti, 813-552-3478.