Also in attendance at the annual Santa party was a U.S. veteran and his family. Info Tech is assisting this family throughout the year in cooperation with a local veteran’s agency. With help from Info Tech’s generous employees, the family will receive a turkey and all the necessary sides for a complete holiday meal, plus all of the items on their Christmas wish list

When Info Tech employees learned of the program and of our veteran family’s needs, they were very eager and excited to help. Monetary donations and gifts came pouring in, and with everyone’s help, the family’s wishes will all come true during this holiday season.

Info Tech employs more than 180 professionals who provide customer-oriented consulting, software development, systems integration and network communications services. The company is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, maintains a regional office in Atlanta, and has additional project offices located throughout the U.S. Info Tech supports the Gainesville community through time and resource contributions to March of Dimes, ARC of Alachua, and various holiday food and gift drives.

Every year, employees participate in a food drive for the holidays and this year was no different. Everyone was eager and excited to help as much as they could, even during the rough economic times.

Employees’ donations included stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned fruit and vegetables, macaroni and cheese, dessert mixes and more, plus the company executives donated ten turkeys to round out the meals.

In addition, to show the company’s commitment to helping veterans, Info Tech sponsored two veteran families for the holiday through a local veterans agency. A full Thanksgiving meal, including the turkey, side dishes and dessert, will be delivered to two veteran families – one in the Gainesville area and the other in Homosassa.

“Info Tech has been doing an annual Thanksgiving food drive for years,” said Dr. James T. McClave, president of Info Tech, Inc. “This year, it seemed even more important and I am proud of our team for coming through for this great community. Helping out local veterans makes it even more special.”

To learn more about Info Tech, visit www.infotechfl.com

A total of 14 employees were recognized for their previous military service. Veterans ranged from young to old, with participation in major wars as far back as World War II. Dr. Robert Lanzillotti served in the U.S. Navy beginning in 1942, eventually taking part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, delivering troops to Juno Beach aboard a Navy LST ship.

Furthering the company’s commitment to helping veterans, Info Tech also announced that they will be assisting ex-military families throughout the year, in cooperation with a local veterans’ agency. Doing this helps people in the local community while acknowledging the hard work of those who put their life on the line in service of our country.

Dr. James T. McClave, president of Info Tech, said that recognizing Veterans’s Day has always been important to him, but doing so in an intimate luncheon setting made it much more personal.

“It is truly an honor to know that Info Tech has employees who have fought for freedom and democracy,” McClave said. “Getting to hear their stories first-hand made the holiday that much more memorable.”

GatorNest groups are usually made up of four-to-six students. At Info Tech, four graduate-level students from UF’s business college participated in the Info Tech/GatorNest project. The duration of the project was eight weeks during the 2009 fall semester. The students worked closely with senior managers Joe Rowland and Meg The Losen to:

• conduct research for the needs and characteristics of a new target market
• assess current capabilities of state department of administration with regard to on-line bidding and evaluate the attractiveness of particular state department administration;
• analyze the feasibility of market entry in terms of environmental factors
• develop marketing strategies for the Bid Express® service, an on-line bidding service provided by Bidx.com, an Info Tech company.

Students conducted research on their own time, and met weekly with Rowland and The Losen to ensure they were on the right track and to get answers to any questions they may have had.

The group was able to identify strengths and challenges to the Bid Express service, and assess its competition in the market. A state by-state evaluation of attractiveness, including economic factors, was taken into account to determine which state would be a better marketing opportunity for the Bid Express sales team to pursue.

At the end of the GatorNest module, the group presented their research findings to the executive team and Ted Astleford, Assistant Director for Experiential Learning at UF’s College of Business Administration. Deliverables also included a detailed written report and a slideshow presentation by the team.

“They [the students] came with fresh eyes and have been able to find information and go down different avenues based on their experience,” Rowland said. “Their findings were very helpful considering they were with very limited resources. They were very capable and eager to learn and figure out the business and market, providing valuable insight.”

This opportunity provided more practical, real-world experience and taught the students how to work under a deadline on a team project. Students earned two credit points for their participation, but most importantly earned a once-in-a-lifetime, real-world work experience.

Info Tech’s next group of GatorNest students started on October 27th. The students will be working closely with a product development team.

Established in 1977 and based in Gainesville, Fla., Info Tech, Inc. provides software development and systems integration services for infrastructure construction management, and also provides highly technical consulting and network communications services. Info Tech’s software products, services and professionals serve public agencies, consulting engineers, contractors and bidders. Info Tech has a highly skilled workforce of more than 180 professionals, and maintains regional and project offices throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.infotechfl.com. Info Tech can be reached at +1 (352) 381-4400.