PENSACOLA - ITGULFCOAST, an Information Technology Association for the Gulf Coast, will hold their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, at Gulf Power's Bayfront corporate headquarters.  Guest speaker will be Wes McDowell who will discuss Smart Grid.

What is Smart Grid? It depends on who you ask. To Southern Company, smart grid is a secure two-way telecommunication-enabled power delivery system that uses technologies to optimize grid performance and reliability, and to provide enhanced options to customers. Join Wes McDowell, Southern Company smart grid coordinator and Georgia Power CIO, as he talks about his company’s smart grid efforts, stimulus funding and what lies ahead for the industry.    

This meeting is officially our 2011 annual meeting for ITGULFCOAST. We will present scholarship awards to 2010 student recipients from UWF and PJC and introduce the new Board of Directors.

Presenter

Wes McDowell is the vice president and chief information officer for the Georgia region of Southern Company. In this role he is responsible for technology strategy and implementation for five subsidiaries, including Georgia Power, Southern LINC Wireless, Southern Telecom, Southern Company Transmission and Southern Company Services. In addition, Wes was named Southern Company Smart Grid coordinator in 2009.

McDowell began his Southern Company career in 1978 in Georgia Power’s accounting department and held various management and supervisory positions before moving to customer service and region operations in 1995. Most recently, he served as general manager for planning and support under Georgia Power’s customer service organization.

McDowell has a bachelor’s degree in business from Georgia State University and a master’s in business administration from Mercer University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School Program for Management Development and a recent graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

McDowell serves on the Atlanta Junior Golf Association board and the University of Georgia Management Information System’s board. He is also a board member of the Technology Association of Georgia, Smart Grid Society of Georgia, and the Georgia CIO Leadership Association.

Meeting Details

This meeting will be held at the Gulf Power corporate headquarters, One Energy Place, Pensacola FL in the 2nd floor conference room. The meeting starts at 11:30 am and ends at 1:00 pm.

The cost for lunch is $12 per person. There is no fee to attend without lunch.  Lunch will be catered by Panera Bread – an assortment of their wonderful Artisan sandwiches with a choice of Mediterranean, Caesar, or Garden Salad. And of course their freshly baked bread and home-style cookies and drinks are included.

Register for this event online. Payment can be made by cash or check or Paypal.  The meeting is open to all ITGULFCOAST members, guests and to the public.

The Information Technology Association of the Gulf Coast (itgulfcoast.org) is a not for profit organization. The group's mission is to link people and organizations in the IT community to promote communication, collaboration, education and economic development. For more information visit www.itgulfcoast.org

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