Blog

ARG is honored to have been named a Top Workplace winner by The Washington Post for the fifth year in a row. Fewer than 30 companies in the entire Washington DC metropolitan area have achieved Top Workplace recognition for five consecutive years. The Top Workplace award is based solely on employee feedback gathered through aRead more

The Falls Church City Public Schools, in conjunction with the Special Olympics, put on a fabulous event at the GMHS track. The Little Feet Meet in The Little City had a great turnout and from what I could tell, everyone had a lot of fun. Students ran, threw, jumped and played games. The lead sponsorRead more

Friday, the FBI issued an alert that hundreds of thousands of broadband routers have been infected with a malware named VPNFilter. Many ARG clients have installed broadband services as a backup or as primary service to their smaller locations. Immediate action is advised. So far, the malware has been detected on the following routers: Linksys Devices:Read more

It was great to be able to leverage our community engagement initiative & use a few hours of time to get to the meet and do whatever the coaches needed to get done so that the meet started on time. There were approximately 100+ kids participating in 32 events from long jump, high jump, discus,Read more

One of my close friends is a teacher at Mark Twain Middle School in Alexandria. She mentioned that one of her “at risk” students who she cherished and had great potential had been jumped walking home from school. They took his backpack, stole his sneakers, and winter coat. He had been coming to school inRead more

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new compliance standard designed to improve individual data protection in the EU. Failure to comply with these regulations by May 25th, 2018 could result in millions of dollars in fines. Answer these 4 questions to determine if your company may be subject to the new GDPR compliance requirements:Read more

We are embarking on our cybersecurity for mid-sized companies program! If you missed our introduction, consider reading the Cybersecurity Strategy & Budgeting Guide overview before proceeding further. ARG’s program is designed to assist you in understanding the types of security threats you need to manage. We will also discuss how to go about identifying aRead more

87% of C-suite executives and Board Members do not have confidence in their company’s level of cybersecurity. (Ernst & Young)

How can your executives be among the 13% that do trust in their cyber security program? The answer may be easier than you think.  

The idea of desktop virtualization has long been promising businesses an opportunity to empower end users to work when they want, where they want, on whatever device they choose.

Joe and I met last Monday afternoon at the Starbucks on Route 7 near the Container Store to discuss plans for ARG’s Big Dig. I noticed two carts full of bags and clothes near a table and then saw the lady who owned them come back to her table and make an instant meal withRead more

Just before Labor Day, I was out to dinner in DC with my boyfriend and a RAK opportunity presented itself on the way back to Arlington in a taxi.  We were talking to the driver about his kids and where he lived.  He lives in Rockville (where we both went to High School) and hasRead more

Cybersecurity regulations from the Washington DC based National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are built to provide flexibility for organizations while protecting critical infrastructure.

It was lovely September morning on the first day of my “staycation” in Winchester and my wife and I decided to go out to Burger King for breakfast before heading out to run our planned errands for the day. While I was waiting for my food, I noticed an older gentleman, with what looked likeRead more

My first RAK was more about the right thing to do, so with my remaining $50 I wanted to do something a little more on the fun side. That was a little more difficult than I anticipated. I was running out of time and was worried that I may not be able to complete theRead more

I am so sad I didn’t get a picture of the two men who came to my neighbor’s house back in August, to load up appliances for a family that was purchasing the set.  It was so hot that day, and I remember feeling rather frustrated with my friend who had asked if I wouldRead more

I had dinner at a place in Tyson’s with TierPoint when they were visiting ARG.  It is one of those very nice steakhouses that I simply don’t go to unless someone else is footing the bill.  I didn’t stay for the whole engagement but asked if my dinner could be put in a to-go container. Read more

Back before the deli across the street closed, I got hit with a desire to do something nice for the lady that sits in the lobby of the Hilton HQ bldg.  She always makes eye contact with me and smiles when I say hello.  So I bought her a cup of coffee, a brownie forRead more

I try to avoid divisive issues and discussions whenever possible – but being an election year, politics is one that is hard to miss. I had heard news stories of vandalism occurring nationwide under the guise of a certain President-Elect, but never thought I’d see it so close to home. Racist graffiti had been writtenRead more

As a few of my colleagues know, I’ve been working on remodeling a bathroom as a surprise Christmas present to my parents. On Christmas Eve, I had gone to IKEA to look for new furnishings and a few other items. Upon checkout, I overheard a family behind me, where the parents were bargaining with theirRead more

My son likes to play airsoft – essentially playing war with low-speed BB guns. Over the last several years, he has become good friends with someone several years older from his high school. This friend just graduated this year and was admitted to one of the national military academies. Over the Thanksgiving break, my sonRead more

Abby & her friend Maura wanted to help the homeless folks in our area and weren’t sure how they could best address the needs.  I decided that this would be a fantastic place to use some of our RAK money, so we went to Target and got to work, filling 10 bags with several practicalRead more

There is an elderly couple who live across the street, their son lives in Alaska.  I found out that the wife had to have emergency surgery on the Tuesday before Christmas.  Without my neighbor Paul being aware, I got a list of groceries items from Elena and bought their Christmas dinner.  Paul and Elena areRead more

As you may remember, a few weeks ago I wrote about the nurses at the hospital where my father-in-law was treated. They were fantastic not only to him but to all of the patients. I decided to thank them for their kindness and hard work that they do every day, I  purchased Starbucks gift cardsRead more

So you’ve moved from Illinois to LA to be a big star. All your friends back home are SOOO jealous. You’ve made it, your going to be the next Beyoncé. You’ve been working in the studio and your music is all over the internet, you’re so hot right now, every producer wants to work withRead more

Adopting a child from an underprivileged country is unbelievably expensive. Legal costs and bureaucratic nonsense can push cost as high as $25k. Without help from friends and family, some couples would not be able to make this dream come true. Good friends of ours decided to host a fundraising event for such a couple whoRead more

My wife, Anne, and I were hosting a pre-Christmas dinner for family and friends on Saturday the 24th.  So Anne and I ran to the grocery store to pick up a couple of forgotten items to finish off the meal. After a quick trip around the store, we got in line to check out. TheRead more

As usual, I struggled until the end with this.  In the past, I’ve done my RAK for a fire department but this year I really wanted to do something different.  I’ve not had opportunities really hit me in the face as they have with other people, so for the last couple of weeks, I’ve reallyRead more

Just completed my first RAK. I purchased a 50.00 Starbucks gift card. Then I explained to the cashier that my company ARG encourages RAK in hopes that it will also encourage others. I asked her to swipe my gift card for as long as it lasted for the next guests in line. Her reaction wasRead more

New Jersey and Oregon are the only U.S. states that currently ban self-service gas stations. The purpose of these laws was to protect consumers and gas station owners from costly, and possibly deadly, accidents. I decided to make this work to my advantage while I was at a gas station near the NJ Turnpike and pay for gas ofRead more

A few months back there was a guy working the corner and I rolled down my window, waved him over and I gave him a $20 and asked him to do something nice for himself today and then pass it on.  He jumped for joy and literally danced on the median. I watched him inRead more