Here are pictures of all the awards winners. If you would like to see more pictures from the evening, you
can view them here.
Thanks again for making this such a fun event and a wonderful evening.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – October 6, 2011 – The Nashville Technology Council today announced that Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology, will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 Technology Awards Gala. The Gala, which features a “red carpet” entrance, VIP reception, dinner and presentation of 12 prestigious awards, is being held on October 27th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Downtown Nashville.

Liza Lowery Massey, President and CEO of Nashville Technology Council, commented, “We are delighted that Mark agreed to join us at the Gala and make our keynote remarks. He is a delightful, creative person who typifies success in Nashville’s tech community.”

Among the awards are recognition of individuals as CIO, CTO, CISO, Programmer/Engineer, IT Student, and Innovator of the Year, with organizations being recognized for their efforts in being green and promoting the use of technology. NTC also recognizes a member of the tech community for volunteerism. Awards presented at the Gala include Start-up Company of the Year and Social Media Person of the Year.    The Technology Lifetime Achievement award rounds out the event by recognizing an individual who has made significant contributions that have a lasting impact on the technology field.

“It’s a great honor to be invited to speak at the Awards Gala,” said Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology. “I look forward to sharing some thoughts on the current tech climate and exploring how Nashville’s tech community will help shape the future.”

This year’s Gala is sponsored by XO Communications. In addition to individual award sponsors, Lincoln is sponsoring the Gala’s VIP Reception and tw telecom is sponsoring the After Party.
The Nashville Technology Council is a nonprofit organization devoted to helping the Middle Tennessee technology community succeed. Membership is open to technology companies, technology employers, service providers, educational institutions, and non-profit companies interested in supporting the growth of technology businesses and those businesses that rely on technology in Middle Tennessee. To learn more, visit www.technologycouncil.com.

Founded on Paul Griffin’s kitchen table in 1992, Griffin Technology Inc., is today one of the world’s foremost creators of accessories for home, mobile, and personal technology. Unique products such as iTrip®, PowerMate®, iFM®, iMic® and Evolve® Wireless Speaker System have broken new ground in consumer electronics and created loyal fans the world over. Today, Griffin products are conceived, designed and developed in-house and continue to push the envelope of the industry they helped create. Learn more about Griffin’s entire range of ingenious designs at www.griffintechnology.com, facebook.com/griffintech and twitter.com/griffintech.

Download the Press Release here.

Did you miss the Nashville Technology Awards last Tuesday night?  Don’t worry, we have plenty of pictures to fill you in on everything you may have missed.  Take a look at the finalists and winners celebrating backstage in the slide show below.  In case you are wondering, yes, those are real Gibson Epiphone guitars, designed especially for the 2009 Nashville Technology Awards.

Finalists and winners weren’t the only one’s celebrating Tuesday night.  Over 375 participants walked the red carpet at this event.  See pictures from the red carpet cocktail reception below.

Special thanks to XO Communications, the Platinum Sponsor of the 2009 Nashville Technology Awards.

The Nashville Technology Council today announced the finalists for the 2009 “Feel the Beat” Technology Awards.  The awards recognize those individuals and companies whose success has helped grow Nashville and the surrounding areas into a hub for technology.  The event will highlight outstanding achievements from the 2008-2009 year.

The winners for the awards will be announced at the “Feel the Beat” Technology Awards Gala on October 27th from 5:30pm – 8:00pm at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

The 2009 Finalists are:

Technology Organization of the Year – Sponsored by XO Communications
• HCA    
• MoonToast    
• EDS an HP Company
• Lipscomb University  
• Community Health Systems  
• Permanent General
• Fisk University  
• PureSafety    
• Nissan
• Belmont University  
• Metro Nashville Airport  
• NovaCopy
• Credence Healthcare  
• Women in Technology of TN  
• edo Interactive
• EMMA   
• Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz

CIO of the Year – Sponsored by KPMG
• Noel Williams, HCA
• Gary Seay, CHS
• Sameer Bhargava, PureSafety
• Vanessa Hickman, Metro Nashville Airport

Start-up Company of the Year – Sponsored by Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
• MoonToast – Marcus Whitney
• Credence Healthcare – Justin Lanning

IT Student of the Year – Sponsored by EDS an HP Company
• David Sulpy, Lipscomb University
• Hank Carter, Belmont University
• J.A. Hayes – Ruffin, Fisk University

Volunteer of the Year – Sponsored by HCA
• Tracy Evers, Women in Technology of Tennessee
• Chris Beck, EDS
• Kent Fourman, Permanent General

The “Green” Award – Sponsored by HealthSpring
• Novacopy
• Nissan North America
• edo Interactive
• Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
• MyEMMA

Innovator of the Year – Sponsored by LBMC
• Sal Novin, Linnaeus
• Cliff Duffey, Cybera
• Nicholas Holland, centresource
• Larry Wilson, Zycron
• Adam Solesby, StudioNow
• Clint Smith, MyEMMA

Social Media / Blogger of the Year
• Dave Delaney, Griffin Technology
• Kate O’Neill, meta marketer
• Rex Hammock, Hammock, Inc.

Lifetime Achievement – ComFrame Software Corporation
• David Condra, Dalcon Communications
• Jim Lackey, Passport Health
• Nicholas Holland, centresource

Software Programmer / Engineer of the Year
• Chip Hayner, centre{source}
• Thomas Holland, O’Charley’s

The cost to attend is $75 per person or a table of eight is $525.  Click here for registration information (http://www.technologycouncil.com/2009/08/17/october-27th-feel-the-beat-technology-awards-gala/)

The Nashville Technology Council got the opportunity to visit the XO Communications offices in downtown Nashville.  We were able to tour their facility and learn more about what XO Communications brings to the Nashville market, what services they offer and what the Nashville Technology Council can provide to better serve their needs.

Owning over 1100 miles of fiber surrounding the Nashville market, XO Communications is a leader in voice, data and Internet, VoIP and managed services for businesses.  XO operates its own private, nationwide, multi-terabit network delivering industry-leading IP solutions at the fastest speeds available.

The company was originally known as NEXTLINK Communications, which was founded by telecommunications pioneer Craig McCaw.  After a strategic merger in 2000 with the messaging, collaboration, and web hosting services company Concentric, XO Communications was born.  Today, XO provides services in 62 markets across the United States.

For more information on XO Communications and how they can service your needs, go to www.xo.com