WINTER 2021 THE NEWSLETTER OF ACTIONET
¾ CMMI®-DEV Level 4 Virtually Celebrating Halloween in 2020 Externally Assessed ¾ CMMI®-SVC Level 4 Externally Assessed s October 31st neared, ¾ ISO 9001 (Quality) Certified ActioNet searched for a ¾ ISO 20000 (ITIL) Certified way for our employees toA celebrate the Halloween ¾ ISO 27001 (Information Security) Certified holiday together. With many employees working from ¾ HDI Certified Support Center home, we were unable to ¾ Contract Vehicles Available make an event of costumes in Tu r n i n g VISION into ACTION® for Multiple Civilan and the office. Like many other PRESIDENT’S NOTE Defense Agencies: events in 2020, we decided to Air Force NETCENTS-2 take our Halloween costume Dear Friends, ARMY ITES-3S contest online! DISA Encore III 2020 has been a year GSA Alliant 2 To continue the holiday cheer, Staying Strong, Staying Safe GSA IT Schedule 70 we extended our costume that has brought us many NAVY Seaport-NxG contest this year. Not only challenges. The silver and Staying Connected NIH CIO-SP3 SB OTSB would employees be eligible and friends from Despicable Me. Our last lining has been how we NIH CIO-SP3 8a OTSB for entry, but so would their spouses, contestants flexed their design and have rallied around each By Jeffrey D. Abish, President & CAO HHS NGITS children, and other close family. ActioNeters creativity with costumes such as unicorns other to stay strong, stay NRC GLINDA raved over the change and were excited to and scarecrows. Check out the wonderful safe and stay connected SEC OneIT submit photos of their fun and creative photos from our ActioNeters below! HHS SPARC in many ways and many uring this time of US Courts JMAS IV costumes. In the end we received a total of ten photographs from six different families. The Contest circumstances. year, we often reflect on ¾ “92 out of 100” Rating from The Halloween Costumes After reviewing the entries we couldn’t let Thanks and appreciation Open Ratings Dtechnology everyone go home emptyhanded. That’s goes to our front why we created a video and released the advancements that ¾ “Exceeds Customer Fun and creative costumes filled our line responders, Expectations” from D&B inboxes. Some contestants decided to photos to the entire company to enjoy. After provide Innovation and dress up as their real-life heroes, such as everyone was done watching they took the our servicemen and ¾ “5A1” the Highest Rating servicewomen in our improve the way we do from D&B an astronaut, a firefighter, and the late Ruth time to vote for their favorite costume in our Bader Ginsburg. Others dressed up as their survey. The top winners received a gift card Armed Forces, the many business. The way we ¾ DCAA-Compliant Accounting fictional heroes, like Harry Potter and Gru prize! volunteers that have all do business took a System donated to help those in hard left on March 13 ¾ Government Approved need and our Services when the COVID-19 Purchasing System Industry workers who pandemic led to a shift in ¾ Government Approved EVM have kept all of us nearly everyone working System supplied during this remotely and many ¾ DoD Top Secret Facility challenging period. The scrambling to buy as much groceries, personal protective equipment (PPE) Clearance with Secret bonds we have forged Safeguarding Capability and supplies as possible, leaving empty shelves and widespread panic. For makes us stronger. a brief period of time, the supply chain collapsed with farmers unable to As we close out 2020 and have their crops picked up by distributors and a large amount of produce prepare for 2021, the best was discarded. The rising numbers of infections led to the shutdown of is yet to come if we bring businesses such as restaurants, bars, concerts, sporting events, movie out the best in each other. theaters and leisure travel. The Federal Government disbursed over $2T of Wishing everyone a relief funds in support of small businesses, airlines safe and healthy Holiday “Almost and other key sectors to keep them afloat and the Season. immediately, the paycheck protection program to retain employees and ActioNet, Inc. make payroll. Protections were extended to renters 2600 Park Tower Drive Ashley W. Chen distinction having trouble paying rental by blocking evictions. Suite 1000 What many took for granted before became a daily Vienna, VA 22180 Chairman & CEO battle for survival. phone 703-204-0090 between the fax 703-204-4782 Almost immediately, the distinction between the office [email protected] IN THIS ISSUE office and home and home blurred, as did the boundaries of a normal www.actionet.com work day. Days turned into nights into weekends. ActoNet Works Together in blurred as did Support of Breast Cancer Many families with as many as three generations Awareness Month. . . . 2 the boundaries living in the same household that had healthy breaks Virtually Celebrating in interaction were around each other all the time, Halloween ...... 4 of a normal which created additional layers of stress and conflict. Parents were forced to manage the entire day for their
4 Visit our website to read more...www.actionet.com ActioNews work day ”. continued on page 4 “In 1944, ActioNet Works Together in Staying Strong, Staying Safe and Staying Connected Winston Churchill Support of Breast Cancer continued from page 1 Awareness Month once said, ‘We children without the relief of day care. In 2020 has brought us, there is light at the person meetings at work and school end of the tunnel with vaccines on the make a living by reast Cancer Awareness Month is an internationally recognized sessions were replaced with virtual horizon, ActioNews meetings and classes leveraging Google, what WE GET, we campaign to increase the attention of the disease and support Teams, WebEx, Zoom and other Special thanks go out to our front line finding a cure. We celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month every technologies. The inability to collaborate medical professionals who have borne the make a LIFE by ActioNews, the newsletter of BOctober to not only support those suffering from the condition, but also in person doubled the number of e-mails brunt of this pandemic, fighting every day ActioNet, Inc. is published to raise awareness and promote detection. and calls we all have to endure to try to to blunt this horrible plague and give those provide examples and applica- stay as connected as possible without that they care for a chance of survival and what we give ’. ” tions of cutting edge IT topics losing meaning, momentum and meeting to return to their families. The entire and practices. We are memory of family members that had services industry also deserves a great proud to passed away from cancer. Others were personal and business goals. ActioNews is published quarterly degree of our gratitude including food (March, June, September, and wear pink, collaborations between the employee and The cumulative pressure cooker that we service and distribution, delivery workers, December) as a service to its discuss their children to help remind the next have all been contending with for the past the transportation industry and many staff, customers, and potential detection, generation of the importance of awareness. eight months exploded amidst police others that helped keep all of us supplied customers. and A sincere thank you to all our participants. brutality and subsequent social justice and connected during this difficult time. All promote protests, a lack of widespread preventive of us play a part in supporting our local awareness The pumpkins were on display in our 10th ActioNews Staff floor reception area through early behaviors including wearing masks and businesses and restaurants who, while annually. November. social distancing and, most recently, a struggling themselves, have played a role In 2020 contentious and divisive election. Our in the distribution of food and other Lead Designer we Testimonial Videos Lynda D. Pitman biggest concerns have turned out not to be donations to those less fortunate decided to foreign adversaries, but how we interact especially with the holidays approaching, increase ActioNet has been supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month for years after and support each other. The worst kind of and for being the glue that keeps us all Contributing Authors our wounds are those that are self-inflicted. connected and caring about each other. Jeffrey D. Abish initiatives the news of its impact on some of our employees. This year we wanted to allow We started the Year 2020 with optimism by hosting about the economy and the future but In 1944, Winston Churchill once said, “We video our employees to tell their own stories. Two make a living by what WE GET, we make a ActioNet grants permission to amazing ActioNeters came forward with another meaning of 20/20 is the ability to educators and academic libraries see clearly. If there is anything we have LIFE by what we give.” These words have videos regarding their relationship with never been truer in 2020. We firmly to use ActioNews for classroom breast cancer. learned about the Year 2020, it should be testimonials and a Pink Pumpkin Contest. that we need to get our focus back with a believe that the best is yet to come if we purposes. There is no charge to ActioNeters internationally were able to these institutions provided they ActioNeter Rohini submitted her testimonial greater understanding of how truly bring out the best in each other. submit video testimonies of being affected regarding her great grandmother’s fight connected and dependent we are on each give credit to the author, by breast cancer. The testimonies could be Best wishes to everyone and their families ActioNews, and ActioNet. All against the disease in 2004. Rohini other and that we need each other. By personal or that of a family member, friend, remembers that her great grandmother had helping each other, we are helping and friends to stay safe, stay strong and others must request permission or coworker who was affected. The videos stay connected as we weather the storms at [email protected]. long, beautiful hair. During chemotherapy ourselves and that becomes a true force were collected and published for her hair began to fall out and she felt multiplier that enables a path to recovery of 2020 in order to see the bright sunshine employees all around the world to see. insecure about the hair loss. Rohini’s great for all of us. In spite of the challenges that ahead of us in 2021. Copyright © 2021 by ActioNet, Inc. ActioNet also held a Pink Pumpkin grandmother lost her battle in 2005, but the Decorating Challenge for employees to get memory of her battle remained. In 2018 creative with their awareness initiative. Rohini donated 12 inches of her hair to Pumpkins decorated with a splash of pink Pantene Beautiful Lengths to help other “ActioNet has were displayed in our HQ reception area for women feel confident through their the week of 10/26 for all visitors to see and chemotherapy treatment. Through her journey started with changes to his nipple Continuing the Fight bravery Rohini inspired three friends to that had begun to turn inward. Her brother the decorated pumpkins were judged on Though October has come to a close we been supporting 10/28. donate their locks as well! thought it was just part of the aging process but decided to have it checked out can still continue to bring awareness to Nine of our headquarters ActioNeters ActioNeter Michelle submitted the second by his primary doctor. Mammogram, breast cancer and advocate for early Breast Cancer flexed their creativity by submitting a total testimony regarding her mother and biopsy and blood tests determined that he detection. Men and women alike should of ten pumpkins brother. was in stage III breast cancer. As years check for lumps, swelling, and other Awareness to our Pink Michelle’s passed, the cancer progressed to stage IV warning signs. Consult a doctor Pumpkin mother is a and spread to his bone, brain, liver and immediately when you notice an unusual Month for years Contest. Each of 10-year breast lungs. People who did not know him would sign or symptom. our contestants cancer survivor, never have thought that he was terminally but sadly her Cancer has no respect of person; Spread made a pumpkin ill. His attitude remained positive and he the word about mammograms and raise after the news of that is personal brother lost his continually praised the care given by the 7-year battle awareness about the importance of early to themselves oncology staff for his quality of life. detection of breast cancer. its impact on and their families with breast while spreading cancer in March some of our the importance 2017. of breast cancer Michelle was his awareness. caregiver for the employees ”. Some entries last 3 years of were created in his fight. His
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