REMINDER/Join NEOSA at the 2002 Cleveland ITEC Ribbon Cutting and Keynote Panel Discussion - ``Leveraging Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Competitive Advantage''

    CLEVELAND--Sept. 16, 2002--NEOSA, the leading representative of the more than 2,000 Information Technology (IT) companies in Northeast Ohio and the Premier Partner for the 2002 Cleveland ITEC, invites technology buyers and the IT community of Northeast Ohio to attend the 2002 Cleveland ITEC Opening Ceremony and Keynote Panel Discussion at the I-X Center on Tuesday, September 17.
    This year's Cleveland ITEC kicks off with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9:45 am and the Keynote Panel Discussion - "Leveraging Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Competitive Advantage" at 10:30 am. The panel features three of Northeast Ohio's most influential Chief Information Officers:
    Jim Sage, Senior Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc. Lev Gonick, Vice President for Information Technology Services and Chief Information Officer, Case Western Reserve University David Pessel, Senior Vice-President and Chief Information Officer, NineSigma, Inc.
    The dialogue will be of specific interest to all those involved with balancing the use of emerging technologies with tried-and-true technology tools as well as aligning IT investment decisions with their enterprise's long-term goals. Ron Copfer, President of Fathom Interactive Solutions and NEOSA Board Chairman, will moderate the discussion.
    Jim Sage is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Pioneer-Standard Electronics, Inc. Pioneer-Standard is one of the world's largest distributors of electronic components and computer systems, and has been recognized by eWEEK magazine as the number one FastTrack 500 electronics distributor in the nation for three consecutive years and by NEOSA and Crain's Cleveland Business as winner of the 2000 Cleveland Area Knowledge Industry (CAKI) Award for Best E-Commerce Application.
    Lev Gonick is Vice President for Information Services & Chief Information Officer at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), one of the nation's leading independent research universities with programs that are marked by distinction in health sciences, law, management, engineering, social work, and arts & sciences. CWRU's technology infrastructure and reputation for innovation and cutting-edge applications is recognized across the country and around the world.
    David Pessel joined NineSigma, Inc. as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer in November 2001, bringing to the company more than 20 years of management experience in the field of information technology with world-renowned companies such as Invacare, FedEx and BP. Another 2000 CAKI Award winning company, NineSigma accelerates and broadens the impact of the R&D enterprise by identifying, qualifying, and matching R&D buyers and suppliers; delivering a Web Portal window on global R&D information; and building software solutions for management of R&D knowledge and information.
    Ron Copfer founded Copfer & Associates, Inc. in 1986 as a documentary, training and marketing films production company. In 1989, Ron began to move the company in the direction of software development, and achieved early successes creating floppy-disk brochures, CBT applications and eventually, CD-ROM based electronic catalogs. The firm has spearheaded the design and sales of electronic catalogs, on-line configurators and content and document management systems. The company was renamed and re-incorporated as Fathom Interactive Solutions in June of 2000. Ron currently serves as Chairman of NEOSA and is a Board Member of NorTech (North East Ohio Regional Technology Coalition).
    NEOSA, a member of Ohio's IT Alliance, was established in 1998 as a not-for-profit trade association and continues its mission to foster the growth and development of Northeast Ohio's information technology-based companies. Under the leadership of President James B. Cookinham, NEOSA initiates and coordinates conferences, networking events and educational seminars on relevant topics for the IT industry.
    For more information about NEOSA and upcoming events and programs, go to: http://www.neosa.org

    2002 NEOSA Premier Partners include: Cuyahoga Community College (http://www.tri-c.cc.oh.us/flashNN.htm), GLIDE (http://www.glideit.org/), Calfee Halter & Griswold, LLP (http://www.calfee.com/), and The Alpha Group Agency/Britton Gallagher & Associates (http://www.neosa.org/about/AlphaBGOverview.htm).