One of the world’s largest defense contractors, with a significant local presence, will be one of the six recipients of this year’s Leading Edge awards. Lockheed Martin will be receiving The Patuxent Partnership Firm of the Year Award at the Leading Edge ceremony Wednesday, June 11 at the Waldorf Jaycees Community Center.
The Leading Edge Awards are presented annually by the College of Southern Maryland in partnership with the Patuxent Partnership, the Charles County Technology Council, the Calvert County Department of Economic Development, The Corporate Center at the College of Southern Maryland, the Small Business Development Center, and the College of Southern Maryland Foundation.
Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda-based, technology-focused company, was formed in 1995 with the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. They have become the largest provider of IT services, systems integration, and training to the U.S. government. The majority of its business is with the U.S. Department of Defense and federal government agencies.
In Southern Maryland, Lockheed Martin has formed a very strong NAVAIR partnership. Steven Tomaszeski, vice president of Navy-Marine Corps Programs, says that Lockheed Martin is able to touch upon a number of areas important to Southern Maryland.
“Lockheed Martin has sustained engagement with the community,” Tomaszeski said. “Folks have moved in and become a part of the fabric of the community.” Employees have gotten involved with STEM initiatives, focusing their efforts on investing in a future workforce, he said.
Lockheed Martin has helped stimulate the Southern Maryland economy by offering engineering opportunities. Out of 114,000 employees, 63 percent are engineers, said Tomaszeski. Locally Lockheed Martin supports the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, maintaining a total of 500 employees working for the program’s Integrated Test Force.
“We’ve become more Marylanders here,” Tomaszeski said.
The Leading Edge awards will take place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
