November Luncheon
2025-11-20 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | O’Fallon Knights of Columbus Hall, 402 E. Highway 50, O'Fallon, IL, 62269, United States
Speaker
Mr. Dennis Polansky
Chief Technology Officer, HQ Cyberspace Capabilities Center

Holiday Party!
2025-12-18 17:00 - 20:00 | Tio’s Tacos & Tequila, 204 Scott Troy Rd F, O Fallon, IL, 62269, United States
🎄
December Holiday Party
Celebrate the Season with Your AFCEA Community

Date:
December 18th, 2025

Time:
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM CST

Location:
Tio’s, O’Fallon

Join us for an evening of holiday cheer and professional networking as the AFCEA Scott AFB – St. Louis Chapter celebrates the season! Connect with fellow defense and technology professionals, reflect on the year’s achievements, and toast to future successes in a festive, relaxed atmosphere.

Member Appreciation

🎁
AFCEA Members
FREE
Our gift to you – enjoy complimentary admission as a thank you for your membership and support throughout the year!

🎟️
Non-Members
$25

Join us for the celebration and discover the benefits of AFCEA membership while networking with industry leaders.

Evening Highlights

🍽️
Appetizers & Refreshments

Enjoy delicious holiday appetizers and beverages throughout the evening.

🤝
Relaxed Networking

Connect with colleagues and make new professional connections in a festive setting.

🏆
Year-End Recognition

Celebrate our chapter’s achievements and recognize outstanding contributions from 2025.

🎉
Holiday Fun

Festive atmosphere with holiday music and opportunities to win door prizes.

Venue Information

Tio’s
Address:
204 Scott Troy Rd, Suite F
O’Fallon, IL 62269
Parking: Ample free parking available
Dress Code: Business casual or festive attire welcome

Why Attend?

Strengthen professional relationships in a relaxed holiday setting
Connect with Scott AFB personnel, government contractors, and industry partners
Celebrate the chapter’s successes and contributions to the community
Welcome new members and reconnect with longtime colleagues
Share in the holiday spirit with the defense and technology community

Reserve Your Spot Today!
Space is limited – register now to secure your place at this special celebration. AFCEA members attend FREE as our thank you for your continued support!

Register Now
Become a Member

Not a member yet? Join AFCEA today and attend the holiday party for free!

January Luncheon - Speaker: Dr. Carrie Butts-Wilmsmeyer
2026-01-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Nightingale Inn DFAC, 420 W Winters St, Scott AFB, IL, 62225, United States
Dr. Carrie Butts-Wilmsmeyer serves as Director of the Center for Predictive Analytics (C-PAN) and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Since founding C-PAN in 2019, she has led efforts to forge research partnerships between academia, business, and government agencies, helping organizations transform complex data into actionable insights and informed decision-making.
Dr. Butts-Wilmsmeyer brings extensive expertise in data science, machine learning, and quantitative analysis. Her work spans genomic datasets, remote sensing data, geospatial analysis, and predictive modeling for research, education, business, and health applications. She also develops data models to identify student success factors and coordinates campus-wide initiatives in research data analysis and data ethics.
Prior to joining SIUE, Dr. Butts-Wilmsmeyer served as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she focused on biostatistics and quantitative genetics. She holds a Ph.D. in Crop Sciences with a specialization in statistical genetics and plant breeding from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture, Plant and Soil Science from the University of Kentucky.

⚠️ Important Registration Instructions
After completing your registration, you MUST email the following information to ensure your attendance:

Full Legal Name (as it appears on your government-issued ID for base access)
Email Address for event communications
Phone Number for day-of-event contact
Organization/Company Name

Email this information to:

Jennifer Bargiel, Chapter Secretary
Jennifer.Bargiel@norseman.com

⏰ Deadline: Information must be received at least 48 hours before the event for Scott AFB base access processing.

February Luncheon - Speaker: Curt Zargan Deputy Director, ARTRANS
2026-02-19 11:00 - 13:00 | Nightingale Inn DFAC, 420 W Winters St, Scott AFB, IL, 62225, United States
Curt Zargan serves as Deputy Director of the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s Transportation Engineering Agency (SDDC-TEA) at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Since October 2008, he has led efforts to ensure the nation’s transportation infrastructure supports military readiness and deployment capabilities.
Mr. Zargan brings nearly three decades of military leadership experience as a U.S. Army Transportation Corps Officer, retiring at the rank of Colonel in 2008 after 29 years of distinguished service. His expertise spans military logistics, transportation systems engineering, and defense infrastructure planning. Most recently, he led TEA’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Railroads for National Defense program, highlighting the critical partnership between military logistics and the nation’s rail network.
Mr. Zargan holds a Master of Science in Resourcing the National Security Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering with a specialization in Systems Engineering, Modeling, and Simulation from Clemson University.

⚠️ Important Registration Instructions
After completing your registration, you MUST email the following information to ensure your attendance:

Full Legal Name (as it appears on your government-issued ID for base access)
Email Address for event communications
Phone Number for day-of-event contact
Organization/Company Name

Email this information to:

Crystal Hogue, Chapter Secretary
secretary@scott.afceachapters.org

⏰ Deadline: Information must be received at least 48 hours before the event for Scott AFB base access processing.

Proposal Writing Workshop - Write Winning Proposals
2026-03-31 13:00 - 17:00 | O’Fallon IL Public Safety Building, 285 N 7 Hills Rd, O Fallon, IL, 62269, United States
✍️
Proposal Writing Workshop
Write Winning Proposals

Date
March 31, 2026

Time
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location
O’Fallon, IL

Winning government work requires more than technical expertise and being compliant. It requires clear, customer-focused proposal writing that evaluators can score. Join the AFCEA Scott-St. Louis Chapter Small Business Committee for a practical, writing-centric workshop led and facilitated by Federal proposal writing experts from NVS Strategic Solutions!

📍 Venue

Public Safety Building – Community Room
285 N Seven Hills Road
O’Fallon, IL

Knowledge You Will Gain

📋
How to Shred an RFP
Learn systematic techniques for breaking down and analyzing RFP requirements to build winning responses.

🎯
Customer-Focused Writing
Master the art of writing proposals that speak directly to evaluator priorities and scoring criteria.

💪
Turn Content into Strengths
Transform technical content into scorable strengths that differentiate your proposal from competitors.

⚠️
Avoid Common Pitfalls
Identify and overcome the most frequent proposal writing mistakes that cost companies contracts.

🤖
Leverage GenAI
Discover how to use Generative AI tools to improve the quality and efficiency of your proposal development.

Who Should Attend

👔
Small Business Owners

📝
Proposal Managers & Writers

⚙️
Engineers & Technical Leads

📊
Program & Project Managers

🤝
Business Development Professionals

Event Details

Format
Hands-on Writing Workshop

Duration
4 Hours

Facilitated By
NVS Strategic Solutions

Hosted By
Small Business Committee

Ready to Write Winning Proposals?
Take your government contracting success to the next level with practical, expert-led proposal writing training.

Register Now
Small Business Program

April Luncheon - Speaker Ward Walker CTO, CIO, Directorate of Communications
2026-04-16 11:00 - 13:00 | Nightingale Inn DFAC, 420 W Winters St, Scott AFB, IL, 62225, United States
Corporate Sponsor of the Month

April Luncheon Speaker Overview

April Speaker: Ward Walker, Chief Technology Officer, Directorate of Communications, and Chief Information Officer.
Ward Walker is the Chief Technology Officer, Directorate of Communications and Chief Information Officer, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Illinois. Prior to that, he served 24 years as a Cyber Officer for the U.S. Air Force. During his military career, he served in a wide array of assignments that included maintenance of a theater air control system squadron, command of the squadron providing DoD High Frequency Global Communications Services, Mystic Star HF/UHF re-entry and Senior Leader Command and Control Communications System-Aircraft airborne broadband networking, served as a Presidential Communications Officer to Presidents Clinton and Bush, and has thrice led the Policy, Plans, and Resources Division of HQ AMC.

EDUCATION:
1987 Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering,
Washington University, St Louis, MO
1988 Basic Communications Officer/Maintenance Officer Course,
Keesler AFB, MS
1991 Distinguished Grad, AF Communications Command Sys School Network Course (Dash 2), WP AFB, OH
1992 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL
1994 Masters of Science in Engineering Management, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
1997 Advanced Communications Officer Training Course, Keesler AFB MS
2000 Masters of Military Operational Art and Science, Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL
2005 Air War College Non-Residence Program, Air University, Maxwell AFB, AL
2008 DAWIA IT Level 3, SPRDE Level 1, and PM Level 1, Defense Acquisition University, Ft Belvoir, VA
2023 AQ Engineering & Technical Management Practitioner Certification
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS:
1995 ACC Communications-Computer Systems Professionalism Award
1995 General Services Agency Interagency Committee on Information Resources Management Technical Excellence
2009 International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) [aka DoD 8570.01-M Information Assurance Management Level 3 Certification]

⚠️ Required Information for Base Access
ONLY if you require visitor base access, please email the following information in advance:

Full Legal Name (as it appears on your government-issued ID for base access)
Date of Birth
Driver’s License Number + State
Email Address for event communications
Phone Number for day-of-event contact
Organization/Company Name

Email this information to:
Crystal Hogue, Chapter Secretary
secretary@scott.afceachapters.org

⏰ Deadline: No later than the Friday before the event for Scott AFB base access processing.
⚠️ Access cannot be guaranteed if information is submitted late.

May Luncheon - TBD
2026-05-21 10:00 - 13:00 | O’Fallon IL Public Safety Building, 285 N 7 Hills Rd, O Fallon, IL, 62269, United States
Corporate Sponsor of the Month

May Luncheon Speaker Overview
TBD

⚠️ Required Information for Base Access
ONLY if you require visitor base access, please email the following information in advance:

Full Legal Name (as it appears on your government-issued ID for base access)
Date of Birth
Driver’s License Number + State
Email Address for event communications
Phone Number for day-of-event contact
Organization/Company Name

Email this information to:
Crystal Hogue, Chapter Secretary
secretary@scott.afceachapters.org

⏰ Deadline: No later than the Friday before the event for Scott AFB base access processing.
⚠️ Access cannot be guaranteed if information is submitted late.

2026 AFCEA TechNet Mid-America Golf Tournament
2026-06-23 11:00 - 17:00 | Stonewolf Golf Club, 1195 Stonewolf Trail, Fairview Heights, IL, 62208, United States
Time: 11:00am check-in, 12:00pm shot-gun start
Location: Stonewolf Golf Club, Fairview Heights IL
Join us for this year’s Golf Tournament! All proceeds benefit the Scott-St Louis AFCEA Chapter Scholarship Fund.
