Statewide technology award winners announced; FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells and Moore County startup Active Defender honored

By Staff Report, posted Nov 2, 2023 on BizFayetteville.com

Dr. Mark Sorrells receives the Tech Difference Maker of the Year award at the NC TECH Awards in Raleigh on Wednesday, Nov. 1 - photo provided by FTCC

The North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH) honored the 2023 NC TECH Awards finalists and winners at the annual NC TECH Awards Gala held at the Raleigh Convention Center on Nov. 1, with 600+ guests in attendance. With the support of presenting sponsor Cherry Bekaert, NC TECH recognized organizations and individuals for excellence and innovation in technology and business.

“This year has been a strong one for the tech community, as evidenced by the volume of nominations and applications for this awards program and the record-setting support from over 80 sponsors,” said Brooks Raiford, NC TECH President & CEO, in a press release. “We’re pleased to highlight such a diverse mix of organizations and leaders at this year’s event.”

Two of the honorees for this year’s awards hail from GFBJ’s coverage area.

Fayetteville Technical Community College President Dr. Mark Sorrells was honored as this year’s Tech Difference Maker of the Year for his work as FTCC President, which includes his role in helping to found and launch the Carolina Cyber Network. CCN is a collaborative workforce development initiative through which select cybersecurity educational institutions in North Carolina are working together to meet the growing talent needs of the state’s public agencies and private businesses.

“Our job is to put a talent development pipeline out there to help secure the interests of our public and private companies across the state,” Sorrells said during his acceptance of the award.

FTCC and the Carolina Cyber Center of Montreat College, both of which hold designations as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Education by the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security, joined to establish CCN. Since then, 16 other higher education institutions in North Carolina have joined the initiative.

Sorrells recently delivered a presentation on CCN and North Carolina’s innovation in cyber education at the National Cybersecurity Education Colloquium in Illinois.

NC TECH also named the Top Ten Startups to Watch for 2023. Among those mentioned was Active Defender, a business based in Moore County.

All finalists and winners can be viewed here.

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