|
From the Regional Coordinator’s Desk Mr. Kurt Buehler - Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center, Port Hueneme, CA Far West Bulletin - Spring 2002 Issue Election results: After a protracted election process Kurt Buehler was elected Regional Coordinator and Mike Sullivan was elected Deputy Regional Coordinator. I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve as the Far West Regional Coordinator for the 2002 – 2003 term. I am especially pleased that the region will continue to benefit from the experience and energy of our outgoing Regional Coordinator, Mike Sullivan, in his new capacity as Deputy Regional Coordinator. Mike and I have had several meetings and will work hard to improve the value of the regional office to the Far West member laboratories and FLC Representatives. Having served as the ORTA and Technology Transfer and Development Manager at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California and now at the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center in Port Hueneme, California, I know success for the FLC region can only be achieved through success for the individual members.
New regional leadership represents the FLC at the National SBIR Conference - Dr. Mike Sullivan [left], outgoing Regional Coordinator, congratulates Kurt Buehler [right] on being elected the new Regional Coordinator for the 2002 – 2003 term.
A special thank you to the Far West Representatives and other interested individuals that participated in our Regional Meeting and Training Session which were co-located with the National SBIR Conference in Anaheim, CA in March. Mike and I are both strong advocates for the concept of co-locating and cooperating with this type of conference. We were provided space for our Far West Exhibit and the opportunity to give a presentation on the value of the FLC and our laboratory technical capabilities to the small businesses attending. Our regional participation at SBIR conferences has resulted in a number of CRADAs and other cooperative ventures. The venue also gave us an opportunity to distribute our new Far West CD Business Card. The small CD was well received and provides us a low cost marketing opportunity. If you have not received a copy of the CD and would like one please contact Del DelaBarre at the Far West support office (flcfw@dbamlg.com).
We also discussed the initial results of our regional survey of the Far West members. This type of direct input from the FLC member representatives will be used in developing our future work program for the region. We will solicit direct input on a regular basis.
Our region recently concluded a study on the “targeted usage” of the Far West web site and its relationship to the major Internet search engines. In a brief two week period (March 11 - 24), there were almost 2,000 highly targeted requests from users of Yahoo, Google, MSN and others. Users ranged from Fortune 500 to small companies, major universities to K-12, federal, state and local government entities, and a significant number of international users. From these queries, references and referrals to more than 30 of our Far West laboratories were made. A summary report will be distributed at the Far West regional meeting, and it will also be made available on our web site.
The next regional meeting will be held May 8, 2002 during the National FLC in Little Rock, Arkansas. I invite all of you attending the National Conference to join us for our Far West regional meeting.
Kurt Buehler |
