At FCG, Fort Meade holds a special place in our hearts – which is why we support so fiercely the Fort Meade Alliance, a nonprofit that manages charitable initiatives for the Fort Meade installation, military personnel and their families, civilians, and the broader Fort Meade Community. And when our support comes in the form of a party surrounded by our network of friends, it’s a win-win. Cue the Fort Meade Alliance Backyard BBQ.

What makes this particular event so special? We caught up with FCG’s Security Manager, Amy Stibler, who helped organize the event, to find out:

What exactly is the FMA Foundation Backyard BBQ and how were you involved?

The FMA hosts an annual Backyard BBQ, sponsored by Mission BBQ. This is only one of the Alliance’s many events. I had the joy of working with Lauren Fontaine, who asked me to join the planning/fundraising committee. We (the committee members) were responsible for collecting silent auction items and door prize donations from businesses affiliated with the intelligence community and local businesses. The items donated included:

• An Ocean City condo for a week
• A themed basket or VA Beach hotel & dinner package
• Oriole’s tickets
• A bottle of Dom Perignon champagne
• Capital’s tickets

Describe FCG’s involvement in this group.

Members of the FCG Corporate Management support the Fort Meade Alliance by being active members. We also sponsored a table at this event.

We hear more than $16,500 was raised to benefit Resiliency and Education efforts on the installation and in the greater Fort Meade community – what exactly will be done and how will it affect FCGers and the community as a whole?

For FCGers as a whole, this is a FUN industry networking event and the scholarship money raised is meant for the family members of the Fort Meade military. However, down the road, these scholarships will continue to help build employable professionals for this industry. All the scholarships extended are also in our field of work.

What were some of the highlights of the event?

The casino tables and silent auction were a huge hit. The money raised goes specifically towards scholarships for Fort Meade military personnel family members with the emphasis on the advancement of science, technology, engineering, math, and language and information technology. This is a laid back and very fun event, that’s not overcrowded and makes it easy to talk to peers and other professionals in our industry.

Chowing down on BBQ, networking with industry professionals, and supporting a great cause to boot. Now that’s something FCG can get behind.