Chambers, Davis honored by federal council

Tonight, the CIO Council will bestow its Azimuth awards on Rep. Tom Davis and Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Chambers.

The Azimuths, handed out each year at an awards dinner during the FOSE trade show in Washington, honor people whose work has benefited government IT.

"These two extraordinary individuals have been key supporters of the federal IT community," said Karen Evans, the Office of Management and Budget's director of e-government and IT.

Evans, who also is chairwoman of the CIO Council, said Davis has been an advocate for the federal IT workforce. The Virginia Republican also has helped make sure his fellow lawmakers see the opportunities that federal e-government efforts can mean in service to citizens, she said.

"Chambers has lent his personal and professional support to assisting us in strengthening our national infrastructure and bringing his company's enormously talented employees to government teams," Evans said.

This the sixth year the council has awarded the Azimuth awards. Past winners were David J. Barram, former administrator of the General Services Administration; Eric Brewer, co-founder of Inktomi Corp. of Foster City, Calif.; former OMB IT policy chief Daniel Chenok; Milton E. Cooper, former federal sector president of Computer Sciences Corp. of San Diego; Renato DiPentima, senior vice president of consulting and systems integration for SRA International Inc. of Fairfax, Va.; former Treasury Department CIO James Flyzik; former OMB e-government chief Mark Forman; former year 2000 czar John Koskinen; former attorney general Janet Reno; and Dendy Young, chairman of GTSI Corp. of Chantilly, Va.

Vanessa Jo Roberts writes for Government Computer News magazine.