Top Tech 2004, one of the region’s major gatherings of the technology community, holds its annual event at the Charlotte Hilton & Towers on May 25.

The North Carolina Electronics and Information Technologies Association (NCEITA), Charlotte’s Business, Innovation & Growth Council (BIG), the Charlotte Chamber, and the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council are the hosts.

Terry Thorson, president of BIG tells Local Tech Wire, “I’d like to see more Charlotte people attend this year.” Thorson says of the 200 or so who attended last year’s event, “about two-thirds were from the Research Triangle.”

Joan Myers, president and CEO of NCEITA says, “We are extremely excited to have national figures such as Medicare, Medicaid acting deputy administrator Leslie Norwalk, as well as some of the top leaders in our industry speaking at TopTech 2004.”

The agenda includes leading industry innovators, security specialists and business visionaries. Attendees will hear from:

  • Michael Almond — President & CEO, Charlotte Regional Partnership.

  • Jane Fulton — Senior Vice President & Group Executive in Financial Center Technology, Wachovia Corporation.

  • Don Allen — Director, Division of Information Resource Management & CIO, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

  • Al Alonso — IT Director, City of Charlotte.

  • Chuck Beam — Vice President of Information Technology, Duke Energy.

  • Michael Byrnes — Co-Founder & CEO, M3 Technology Group.

  • Dave Ellard — CIO, EMC Corporation.

  • Joe Freddoso — Director of RTP Site Operations, Cisco Systems.

  • Mark N. Greene, Ph.D — General Manager of Global Banking Industry, IBM.

  • Bill Huber — Senior Vice President & Director of Strategic Sourcing, Wachovia.

  • Leslie V. Norwalk — Acting Deputy Administrator & Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

  • Holt Anderson — Executive Director, North Carolina Healthcare Information & Communications Alliance.

  • Kathy Harris — Vice President & Chief of Research, Gartner Research.

  • Paul F. Pedigo — Partner, Leader of the Chemical & Pharmaceutical Patent Solicitation Group, Alston & Bird.

  • Randy Choplin — CEO, WindChannel Communications.

  • Mirsad Hadzikadic, Ph.D. — Dean of the College of Information Technology, UNC Charlotte

  • Hank Kafka — Chief Technologist, BellSouth.

  • Gregory R. Tennant — Vice President Customer Service Delivery, Progress Telecom.

  • Michael Vossel — Head of Global Operations, Materna, Inc.

  • Joel Barker — Visionary & Business Futurist.

  • Pamela Blizzard — President, Contemporary Science Center.

  • Frank Boosman — Chief Marketing Officer, 3Dsolve.

  • Geoff Cramer — Executive Director, Futures for Kids.

  • Tim MacAller — Curriculum Director for Teachers & Scientists Collaborating Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University.

  • Kent Blossom — Director of IBM Safety & Security Services, IBM.

  • Jane Brown — Division Manager of IT Security, Duke Energy.

  • Roger Callahan — Senior Vice President of Critical Infrastructure Protection, Bank of America.

  • Dr. Wynn Mabry — Director of Homeland Security Office, Mecklenburg County.

  • Terry L. Payne, Ph.D — Director of Economic Development, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

  • Shirley Wyatt — Strategic Security Advisor & National Security Team Member, Microsoft Corporation.

    • NCEITA is the primary voice of the Information Technologies industry in North Carolina dedicated to promoting and strengthening the electronics, telecommunications, software, Internet and related service industries through increased public awareness, and to provide a forum to learn, educate, communicate, promote, network and implement actions.

    Old Houses Online

    Copley Internet Systems has launched a site called OldHouses.com offering listing space for sellers of historic houses built before 1950, a growing photo archive, and extensive resources for old house enthusiasts.

    The site includes directories of suppliers, publications, organizations
    and other resources.

    Joe Copley, president, says the site grew out of his passions for both old homes and the Internet. Copley is currently living in and restoring a 1910 American Foursquare near downtown Charlotte, where OldHouses.com is headquartered. The house is on the commercial edge of Elizabeth, a fine example of a Southern neighborhood built at the turn of the 20th century. He has lived in and restored several other old homes.

    “Remembering the past is about looking forward, not backward: preserving our heritage enriches and informs our future. That is
    why I want to celebrate the glory of our architectural heritage,” says Copley.

    According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the United States has more than 30 million housing units built before 1950. “The Internet offers new ways to celebrate and promote the preservation of these old treasures far into the future,” says Copley.

    According to real estate industry statistics, approximately one million old houses are sold in the U.S. every year. And roughly 90 percent of the buyers of these old houses use the Internet to facilitate the purchase process.

    Copley Internet: www.copleyinternet.com

    NCEITA: www.nceita.org