Colorado Springs Engagement Dinner: October 2026

Registration now open!

NVSBC offers our Engagement Dinner event and guest speaker for the veteran entrepreneur and federal small business community.  Come join us for the networking, dinner, and speaker presentation! ALL (NVSBC Members and Non-Members) are welcome to attend!

• Location: McDivitt Club at Weidner Field, 111 W. Cimarron St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903
• Parking: Venue Parking Lot
  
• Event POC: Engagement Director, [email protected]

Colorado Springs Engagement Dinner Agenda: 

• 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM Registration, Networking
• 5:00 PM – 5:20 PM Call to Order
• Opening Remarks - Alfonso Alfaro, Engagement Associate, NVSBC
• 5:20 PM – 5:30 PM Spotlight: TBD
  
• 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM Around the Room Introductions
• 6:30 PM – 6:45 PM Dinner Served/Networking (Plated)
• 6:45 PM – 6:50 PM Guest Speaker Introduction (NVSBC)
  
• 6:50 PM – 7:20 PM Guest Speaker: Blake Schwank, CEO, C|CISO at CCS IT Pros (SDVOSB)
  Topic: CMMC Phase II is paused. Cybersecurity compliance is not.
• The CMMC program entered a significant transition in July 2026 when the Department suspended the planned Phase II rollout and began reviewing the program's cost, complexity and impact on the Defense Industrial Base. However, this does not mean CMMC or defense contractor cybersecurity requirements have disappeared. Phase I self-assessment requirements remain in place, and the Department has specifically stated that it will continue enforcing NIST SP 800-171 Revision 2 through self-assessments and selected government assessments. Existing DFARS requirements governing the protection of Controlled Unclassified Information also remain important.
  For DIB companies, the appropriate response is not to stop their compliance programs. Companies should determine what their contracts require, identify whether they handle FCI or CUI, properly scope their environments, assess themselves against NIST SP 800-171, maintain an accurate System Security Plan and SPRS assessment where applicable, remediate deficiencies, and build evidence demonstrating that their cybersecurity controls actually operate. The certification mechanism may change; the need to protect defense information will not.
  Attendee will leave with these three key-takeaways:
  

  • Know Your Data — Identify your FCI, CUI, contracts, and where the data lives.
  • Complete Your Self-Assessment — Assess honestly against NIST 800-171, document your gaps, and ensure your SPRS score is accurate and current.
  • Close the Gaps — Remediate deficiencies, document your controls, and collect the evidence needed to prove compliance.
• 7:20 PM - 7:30 PM Networking and Close of Event

REGISTER