ISF 7th Annual OSAC Appreciation Dinner Breaks Records
The International Security Foundation (ISF) hosted the ISF 7th Annual OSAC Appreciation Dinner on November 20, 2019 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the achievements of the tireless work of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).
A much-anticipated highlight of OSAC’s Annual Briefing week, the dinner set new records and ushered in a new chapter in the ISF’s nonprofit mission. With 900 guests from across the global security industry, the U.S. Department of State and other government agencies, the annual event broke all previous attendance records for the dinner. Event Chair and ISF President Rich Davis proudly announced two major milestones for the ISF:
- Reaching an impressive $1 million raised, for the first time, for the ISF through generous dinner program sponsorships and ticket sales; and,
- Creating an endowment for the ISF, which will enable the nonprofit to ensure ISF viability well into the future.
Click to view the PHOTO GALLERY
Wearing a series of NBA, NFL and MLB championship hats for 2019 – all three organizations were 2019 dinner sponsors – and a surprise pair of mouse ears presented by ISF Emeritus board member Ron Iden of The Walt Disney Company, Davis kept the evening lively and entertaining.
Watch a clip of Rich sharing why celebrating and supporting OSAC is critical.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
In keeping with Davis’ tradition of weaving sports into the event, renowned singer Jim Cornelison sang the National Anthem with a presentation of colors by the U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard. Cornelison sings the National Anthem for every Chicago Blackhawks home game, as well as other major events.
2019 OSAC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
A highlight of the annual dinner is the presentation of the OSAC Achievement Awards, which are selected based on nominations by OSAC members across the public and private sectors. Peggy O’Neill, ISF Executive Director, presented The Distinguished Achievement Award given annually to a representative from the U.S. Department of State who has made a significant direct contribution to enhancing the ability of American organizations to protect their personnel, assets, information, intellectual property or business operations overseas.
2019 Winners:
- Richard Barta, Program Officer, Research and Information Support Center Staff, OSAC
- William Gannon, Special Agent-in-Charge, Boston Field Office, Bureau of Diplomatic Security; Public-sector Chair, Middle East North Africa Regional Council (MENA RC)
Nominated by the Aviation Security Working Group and the International Development Working Group, Richard Barta embodies the partnership ideals central to the OSAC mission. As Program Officer for the ASWG, the IDWG and the Pan-Asia Regional Council, he successfully cultivates relationships to engage communities across globally diverse sectors and through an array of events and online resources. Richard is kind, unflappable and collaborative. This year, these leadership qualities played a guiding role in creating the successful Joint Security Seminar between the ASWG and the Energy Security Working Group, the first event of its kind in OSAC history. He also played a significant role in the quality of IDWG’s numerous digital resources. Congratulations, Richard, on your award!
Nominated by the MENA RC Executive Committee, Bill Gannon honed his expertise and experience from his tours in Shanghai, Santiago, and now Boston. These experiences infuse everything Bill does to expand OSAC’s MENA RC community and network. Known for his innovative ideas and affable, engaging demeanor, he recruits MENA RC event speakers from across the security industry. His commitment to constantly improving the experience for all OSAC members inspires his advocacy role for gender parity in the global security industry. With passion and purpose, Bill led the collaboration between MENA RC and OSAC’s Women in Security for the first-ever Women in Security panel discussion at the MENA RC meeting this past spring.
In some ways, he is responsible for the creation of the ISF. While serving as the RSO in Shanghai, Bill planned the OSAC Pan-Asia Regional Council at the Shanghai Ritz Carlton. Because there was no ISF, Bill put over 50 hotel rooms on his personal credit card. A typhoon threatened to disrupt the travel of many of the event attendees, which would have left Bill on the hook for the rooms. Thankfully, it all worked out. Jim Snyder, who attended the event and was aware of Bill’s potential personal financial exposure, decided that it was time for the private sector to work on getting the ISF established. Congratulations, Bill, on your achievement! (Pictured with Peggy O’Neill and Brian Cook, Chevron Regional Manager-Americas.)
2019 Country Council Achievement Award, presented by Brian Cook (right), Chevron Regional Manager-Americas, awarded to the Kabul, Afghanistan Country Council and accepted by Thomas Barnard (center), Public-sector Chair, Senior Regional Security Officer, U.S. Embassy Kabul, and Bret Dalton (left), Private-sector Chair, Regional Director for Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa, IAP
About the Kabul Country Council: This year, the Kabul, Afghanistan Country Council continued its record of success and superb service to the 130-plus organizations and more than 250 representatives in the war-torn region. The Council, which was founded in 2006, plays an unprecedented role in OSAC history. With a real and enduring threat for the past 18 years, the Council remains in constant collaboration with the Kabul Regional Security Office and OSAC Afghanistan constituency to provide exceptional timely, interactive and daily security support and to foster a spirit of community. From monthly meetings and a security conference for local NGOs to daily security briefings, the Kabul, Afghanistan Country Council is at the forefront for the exchange of security information in an ever-evolving, challenging environment.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER ADMIRAL MICHAEL ROGERS
Todd Brown, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who was most recently the Director of the NATO Office of Security in Brussels, Belgium, introduced the evening’s keynote speaker, Admiral Michael Rogers, one of the most influential American intelligence professionals of the last decade.
Admiral Rogers’ impressive 37-year career of dedicated service culminated in his roles as the Director of the National Security Agency under both Presidents Trump and Obama and the second-ever Commander of U.S. Cyber Command.
A career Naval officer, he spoke passionately and eloquently about leadership lessons learned throughout his career. His words resonated with the packed room of global security industry professionals, whether experienced leaders from the public and private sectors or those new to the industry.
Thank you, Admiral Rogers, for your wonderful remarks.
Watch an excerpt from his inspiring speech.
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
The ISF Board of Directors is deeply grateful to our extraordinarily generous Dinner Sponsors and Ticket Holders and to everyone who attended this year’s memorable dinner!
Thank you to our first-ever Diamond Sponsor, Chevron. For a full list of the evening’s sponsors and premium ticket holders, read below or click here.
Earlier in the evening, Lynn Mattice and Ron Worman of The Executive Summit Series presented a donation to Rich Davis and Peggy O’Neill from the proceeds of their conference held earlier in the week. Read more about the wonderful gift.
Presales of 2020 dinner table sponsorships, with new benefit packages, have begun for the ISF 8th Annual OSAC Appreciation Dinner on November 18, 2020, which will celebrate the 35th Anniversary of OSAC. Learn about the new Table Sponsorship levels and benefits.
Our 2019 Diamond Sponsor:
Chevron
2019 Platinum Sponsors:
Bloomberg
Facebook
SOS Security, LLC
Target Corporation
Our 2019 Gold Sponsors:
Google
Pinkerton
United Airlines, Inc.
Our 2019 Silver Sponsors:
ADT Commercial
Airlines for America
Allied Universal
ASIS International
Atlas Air Worldwide
Blackberry
The Boeing Company
The Coca-Cola Company
Colgate-Palmolive
Delta Airlines
Dentons
Discovery, Inc.
Fiserv
G4S Secure Solutions
Global Guardian
Mars, Incorporated
National Basketball Association
National Football League
PepsiCo
Verizon
VISA
Walmart
The Walt Disney Company
WorldAware
Our 2019 Bronze Sponsors
Allegiant Air, LLC
American Airlines
Assurant
Cummins Inc.
Dataminr
Gavin de Becker & Associates
Global Strategies, Inc.
Hiscox Special Risks
International SOS
Kroll, a Division of Duff & Phelps
Marriott International, Inc.
NC4
Northrup Grumman Corporation
On Call International
PayPal, Inc.
Polaris Risk
Prudential Financial
Raytheon Company
Sempra Energy
United Technologies Corporation
UnitedHealth Group
Our 2019 Patron Sponsors:
Accenture
AEG Worldwide
AT&T
Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Cemex
Cisco
CME Group
FocusPoint International
Gardaworld
Hilton
Insite Risk Management
International Security Management Association (ISMA)
JetBlue
Major League Baseball
McDonald’s Corporation
Mutual of America
Novelis
Oracle
Principal
S&P Global
SC Johnson
Scott Advocates PLLC
SI Placement
Sibylline Ltd
Starbucks Coffee Company
Stripe
Tiffany & Co.
