The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter continues to support the ever growing food insecurity needs in our local community.   On August 9th, 2021 our members volunteered to pack meal bags for Loudoun Hunger Relief (LHR) located in Leesburg, VA.  Despite the summer heat and humidity, our group packed enough bags to fill up 2 large, deep containers!  It is humbling to know that our efforts will assist local families and the outreach goals of LHR.  We are truly making a difference TOGETHER!

Want to get more involved? We welcome you in joining us on our next initiative!  Contact us for more information!

The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter Education Committee is pleased to have selected fourteen outstanding recipients for the 2021-2022 Shariar Zaimi Memorial Scholarship Awards. This scholarship was established to recognize exceptional full-time students enrolled in an engineering program who are pursuing an education in an engineering or computer science field that supports the data center industry.  Thanks to the support of our sponsors throughout the year we were able to grant $35,000 in awards this year!  Since the program’s inception in 2012, the 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter has awarded 92 scholarships with a total value of $235,500.

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients!  They include:

1. Maddy Freese, $5,000, SUNY Polytechnic Institute
2.  Jack McGarrity, $3,500, Notre Dame
3. Michael Brown, $3,500, University of Maryland
4. Seth Denmark, $3,000, Rochester Institute of Technology
5. Gabriel Machado, $2,500, University of Florida
6. Megan McCoskey, $2,500, Clarkson University
7. Aiden Cranfield, $2,000, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
8. Arya Ganesan, $2,000, University of Virginia
9. Shara Shanmugasundaram, $2,000, Cornell University
10. Eric Jackson, $2,000, Boston University
11. Sam Bennett, $2,000, Rochester Institute of Technology
12. Jayden Henson, $2,000, George Mason University
13. Catherine Bennett, $1,500, Clarkson University
14. Owen Runge, $1,500, Wabash College

We continue to encourage these recipients to apply for next year’s scholarship program and wish them all luck during their academic year!

The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter Board is very excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website. After months of hard work and dedication, we are delighted to officially announce the launch today. We wanted to make the new website easier to navigate and more user-friendly.

The goal of this new website is to provide an easier way to find out what our Chapter has done and is currently doing for our data center community.  The new website also gives better access to Who We Are, Our Committees, Our Events, Our Members, and a forthcoming Career Opportunities Page. 

We will like to offer our members the opportunity to post their job openings to our new website.  Please respond to this email if you are interested in posting your career opportunities and we will be happy to do so!

We hope you enjoy our new look!

The 7x24 Exchange Washington DC Chapter celebrated our Veterans on November 5^th at the Lost Rhino Brewing Company in Ashburn, VA. This event was organized by the DC Chapter’s USA-CO (Uniformed Service Advocates in Critical Operations) Committee. 

The mission of this committee is: to serve as a support group that provides outreach, scholarships, recruiting, mentoring, and networking opportunities to create and enhance partnerships with Veterans and DoD in our Mission Critical and Data Center Communities. Further, we will engage and educate the community about our industry and its goals through volunteer efforts, financial/resource (trade) donations, and other touches related to a focus on Veterans. 

Mark Barry, Board Member and Chair of USA-CO kicked off the event by honoring our Veterans, explaining the purpose of our new Committee, and introducing our first speaker of the evening, Captain Eugene "Red" McDaniel, Veteran, Living Legend, Non-Profit Servant, & Author. As a 6-year Vietnam POW Survivor of the "Hanoi Hilton" prison, a highly decorated American Hero, and Author of "Scars and Stripes," Red discussed how his time as a POW, his faith, and service to his fellow Veterans fully inspired his transition into civilian life. “I don't consider what we do a business. I consider it a ministry.” – Red  

Red’s speech was followed by one of the truly most noteworthy testimonies to Veteran success in the Mission Critical Industry, Mr. T.J. Ciccone, Veteran, Professor, & VP Critical Ops – Stack Infrastructure discussed an unparalleled navigation from youthful and spirited Navy Nuclear Sailor to a “V-Suite Executive” inviting his fellow Sailors, Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Space Professionals; follow me, “you certainly can too!” – T.J.  

Our industry made band, the DC Alley Cats; half of which are Veterans themselves in support of USA-CO, played 80’s covers for the rest of the evening while attendees networked, ate, drank and enjoyed the hits! 

Below is a quote from our USA-CO’s Chair, Mark Barry: 

"Lil, it was so fun; thank you! A huge congratulations to Ross, Brian, yourself, and the rest of the 7x24Exchange WDC Chapter Board, is in order! Our inaugural USA-CO event and first full year as a committee was a huge success; we're so pleased with the turnout across the Mission Critical Industry and within our Greater Washington, D.C. communities in support of our Veterans! We raised $1,500 for Wreaths Across America, another $1,000 for Captain McDaniel's Veteran focused charities, and an additional $10,000 in support of our 7x24Exchange WDC Chapter initiatives! We created a new special segment of Veteran-set-aside scholarships, commensurate with the mission of 7x24 Exchange at large. We brought some new, even unexpected, members into our 7x24 Exchange family. USA-CO's official launch to our Mission Critical Community & 7x24Exchange has even prompted other local 7x24 Exchange chapters to invite me in for discussions and for aid in starting their own local USA-CO Committees!" - Mark Barry

As we all face these tough times, we are very grateful to be in the industry we are in and to be able to keep everyone connected.  As an organization, we would like to help our community during these unfortunate circumstances.  The 7x24 Exchange DC Board along with our community outreach committee has been working with the local community to identify appropriate needs of support our organization can provide. The Board would like to maximize the impact of these efforts by encouraging our members and all that are affiliated with the local data center community to champion similar efforts within your organizations by supporting the efforts listed below through similar contributions. If you are able, please let us know so we can document the efforts of our 7x24 Exchange DC family in these troubling times.    Thanks to your continuous support of our Chapter we are able to donate the following: $10,000 to the Inova Emergency Preparedness fund. $10,000 towards meals for Inova team members.  $5,000 to Northern Virginia Community College COVID-19 Emergency Student Aid fund. Please see the thank you letter from INOVA HERE. Support Inova's Emergency Preparedness Fund As the COVID-19 situation continues to rapidly evolve, Inova’s exceptional team of physicians, nurses, and other frontline heroes are working 24/7 to provide care to our community. Right now, they are preparing for a surge in patient care, and they are in need of your partnership more than ever.  The most effective way to help is by donating to Inova’s Emergency Preparedness Fund, which is the quickest and most efficient way to get supplies immediately from vendors and suppliers we trust into the hands of our frontline heroes. If you are interested in donating to this fund please visit Emergency Preparedness Fund. If you or your company are interested in donating meals to the Inova hospital staff, please reach out to Trisann Casamiquela at TCasamiquela@stackinfra.com and Ross Rebraca at RRebraca@HITT-GC.com and we will assist in making this happen. (Full lunch meals are $10 each from a bank of Loudoun restaurants who are also in need of business.) Our emergency health care professionals are working so hard to keep us safe and when we support them, they support all of us. Please consider supporting the evolving needs of our community with your gift to Inova’s Emergency Preparedness Fund. NOVA COVID-19 Emergency Student Aid Fund As college has moved to remote learning, NVCC have established the NOVA COVID-19 Emergency Student Aid Fund to facilitate the rapid delivery of emergency aid funding to students who need it most.  Their aim is to meet students’ basic needs to help them stay in school to complete the semester and continue progress toward their degrees. The goal is to raise $750,000 to provide at least 1,500 grants at $500 each. The NOVA Educational Foundation will match up to $250,000.  So far, they have received more than 2,000 applications for aid in the first week and have granted approximately 850 of them, which total $425,000.  We understand everyone has needs right now, so we appreciate any consideration you might give this.  If you are interested in donating, the link is: https://nova.cbo.io [nova.cbo.io] We have attached more information on Inova and Northern Virginia Community College below.  Inova Emergency Preparedness Information NOVA Educational Foundation Information   Together we will get through this! 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter Board Members

7x24 Exchange, DC Chapter, partnered with Women Giving Back (WGB) organization and held a backpack and school supply party on Thursday, July 18^th.  The 7x24 organization and members purchased backpacks and school supplies for elementary and middle/high school students.  Along with the necessary supplies, an inspirational note was hand written and placed in over 60 backpacks for each child that will receive through this program.  This jump started the backpack/school supplies donation drive for WGB who’s mission is to support women and children in crises, and build their confidence and self-esteem.  Last year WGB provided 460 children from low‐income families (most in shelters) with back to school supplies. 

Women Giving Back’s main purpose is to provide great quality clothing at no cost, assisted by caring and committed volunteers who offer personalized service and interaction.  Their clients have the opportunity to ‘shop’ in WGB’s store for clothing and shoes for themselves and their families.  They also have special shopping events throughout the year in celebrating Valentine’s Day, Prom, Mother’s Day, Back to School, Halloween and even provide toys at Santa’s workshop in December.  These events are held in their seasonal room in which inventory changes based on the time of year.

WGB is a registered 501(c) organization located in Sterling, Virginia.  In 2018 they were able to serve over 9,960 women and children that needed their services.   Women Giving Back is run primarily through their volunteer program.   How can you help? 

For more information: https://womengivingback.org   

The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter Education Committee is pleased to have selected twelve outstanding recipients for the 2019-2020 Shariar Zaimi Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship was established to recognize exceptional full-time students enrolled in an engineering program who are pursuing an education in an engineering or computer science field that supports the data center industry.  Thanks to the support of our sponsors throughout the year we were able to grant $33,000 in awards this year!  Since the program’s inception in 2012, the 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter has awarded 61 scholarships with a total value of $161,000.

This year, two awards are valued at $5,000, three are valued at $3,000 and five are valued at $2,500 each.  In addition, two recipients from a two-year community college have been awarded scholarships valued at $1,000 and $500. 

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients!  They include:

1. Robert Patina - $5000 Award (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, General Engineering)
2. Catherine Bennett - $5,000 Award (Clarkson University, Chemical and Biomedical Engineering)
3. Sam Caplea - $3,000 Award (University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Mechanical Engineering)
4. Seth Denmark - $3,000 Award (Rochester Institute of Technology, Civil Engineering)
5. Nicholas Scoggins - $3,000 Award (University of Virginia, Systems Engineering)
6. Henry Trochlil - $2,500 Award (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, General Engineering)
7. Megan McCoskey - $2,500 (Clarkson University, Environmental Engineering)
8. Alec Souders - $2,500 (Christopher Newport University, Computer Science Engineering)
9. Reagan Bird - $2,500 (University of Mary Washington, Computer Science Engineering)
10. Jeremy Lunn - $2,500 (James Madison University, General Engineering)
11. Jayden Henson - $1,000 (Northern Virginia Community College, Civil Engineering)
12. Justin Krebbs - $500 (Northern Virginia Community College, Data Center Operations)

The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter Education Committee is pleased to have selected eleven outstanding recipients for the 2018-2019 Shariar Zaimi Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship was established to recognize exceptional full-time students enrolled in an engineering program who are pursuing an education in an engineering or computer science field that supports the data center industry.  Thanks to the support of our sponsors throughout the year we were able to grant $32,500 in awards this year! 

The top two awards are valued at $5,000 and 9 are valued at $2,500 each.  The recipients include:

Eugene DeNezza - $5,000 Award - Embry – Riddle Aeronautical University, Mechanical Engineering

Josh Ford - $5,000 Award - University of Pittsburgh, Computer Science

Wyatt Brisbane - Drexel University, Electrical Engineering

Brian Bucaro - Penn State University, Mechanical Engineering     

Jeremy Ford - Penn State University, Computer Science

David Fehrle - Virginia Tech, General Engineering 

Ryan Heiser - University of Maryland, General Engineering    

Megan McCoskey - Clarkson University, Environmental Engineering 

Brandon Meyer - Clemson University, General Engineering 

Joel Stahr - Cedarville University, Mechanical Engineering 

Brandon Young - University of Maryland, Aerospace Engineering 

The chapter is honored to provide these scholarships in memory of Shariar Zaimi, a great engineer, leader, mentor, and entrepreneur that devoted so much of his life to the engineering industry.

The 7x24 Exchange DC Chapter is pleased to offer scholarship opportunities for students who are pursuing an education in an Engineering field that supports the data center industry. Visit our homepage to upload the 2018-2019 Scholarship Application.

*Must be a DC Chapter member to sponsor a student.

The Washington, DC chapter of the 7x24 Exchange has named Ross Rebraca as DC Chapter President.  Rebraca, an active member of the chapter for more than 20 years, has served on various committees including Partnerships, Membership and Golf. He also served as executive vice president on the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2018.

7x24 DC Rebraca President Press Release with Headshot.pdf