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Four Polycom Federal Government Customers Honored for Their Innovative Use of Video Collaboration to Train and Educate Soldiers, Medical Professionals
Posted on Monday, August 19, 2013
Four Polycom Federal Government Customers Honored for Their Innovative Use of Video Collaboration to Train and Educate Soldiers, Medical Professionals
  • 2013 Federal Government Distance Learning Association Awards acknowledge departments of the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and Smithsonian Institute for using video collaboration to accelerate distance learning 
  • Polycom U.S. Federal Government Market Director Russ Colbert inducted into Federal Government Distance Learning Association Hall of Fame
WASHINGTON INTERACTIVE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES CONFERENCE, RESTON, Va. - Aug 19, 2013: Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in open, standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), today announced that four federal government customers have been honored for their innovative approach to distance learning, including  the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (U.S. Army), Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art, and the U.S. Air Force’s Air Technology Network.
 
At its annual awards ceremony last night, the Federal Government Distance Learning Association acknowledged individuals and organizations who have used Polycom® RealPresence® video solutions to more effectively train American soldiers and airmen, to deliver ongoing education for medical personnel serving the U.S. Army in Europe, and to provide global access to the Smithsonian Institution’s vast collection of African art. The association also inducted Russ Colbert, Polycom’s U.S. Government market director, into its Hall of Fame.
 
Two Polycom customers received organizational awards:
  • U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Army Training Support Center, Infrastructure Office, Education Support Division. This U.S. Army organization won a Five-Star Award for its Enterprise Classroom Project: Classroom XXI. The program blends face-to-face video collaboration with other advanced technologies to create a digital classroom environment designed to prepare the next generation of soldiers, leaders, and civilians by connecting them with instructors from more than 32 Army schools. The Five-Star Award honors programs that demonstrate excellence in enterprise-wide distance learning. 
  • Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. As headquarters for the U.S. Army’s European Regional Medical Command, Landstuhl provides primary and specialty care for 85,000 military personnel and their families from a comprehensive medical facility in Germany. Through ongoing training conducted over Polycom video collaboration solutions, Landstuhl extends it medical expertise to personnel stationed at 17 Army and Military treatment facilities in Germany, Italy, and Belgium.  Landstuhl was recognized for its life-saving application of distance learning with a Five-Star Award.
Two customers received individual awards:
  • Deborah Stokes, curator for education at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art. Under her direction, the museum helps augment art curriculum for budget-strapped schools across the United States and the world by providing interactive and real-time video classes, briefings and tours – all at no charge to schools. Stokes earned the Pioneer Award, which annually recognizes an individual who demonstrates initiative and leadership in the field of distance learning within the federal government.
  • Dr. Philip Westfall, director of the Air Technology Network at Air University, Department of the Air Force. Westfall received an Eagle Award for two decades of leadership, vision, and advocacy of distance learning at the federal level. Before he launched the Air Technology Network, which connects more than 350 Air Force sites, he established the Government Education and Training Network, which began with a single site in 1992 and now delivers interactive, video-based distance learning to several federal agencies. The cost-effective distance learning networks launched by Westfall have saved taxpayers millions of dollars.
In admitting Polycom’s Russ Colbert to its Hall of Fame, the Federal Government Distance Learning Association recognized Colbert’s long and distinguished career in support of distance learning. A former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare officer, Colbert established and managed the Navy’s Electronic Schoolhouse Network, and oversaw an expansion of video teleconference-based distance learning from five to 22 locations. Colbert also established the first successful shore-to-ship video training connection and course of instruction in naval history. He went on to assist dozens of government agencies at all levels in various capacities as a consultant and distance education manager.  
 
“What an honor it is for Polycom to work with such distinguished pioneers of distance learning in the federal government,” said Colbert. “These individuals and organizations serve to protect, preserve, and enhance the American way of life, and we’re proud to play a part in the important work they do.”
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