By Mark Roberts, CEO, TechServe Alliance
While not as iconic as the closing scene from Cheers where Sam waves off a would-be patron with the words, “Sorry, we’re closed,” this picture marks a milestone for us—the closing of our Alexandria, Virginia office.
Twenty years ago, we moved into that space on King Street in Old Town Alexandria. Back then, TechServe Alliance was known as NACCB (the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses—quite a mouthful, isn’t it?). With a small team and a focus on advocacy, a conference, and providing industry updates (distributed largely by mail!), we operated as a traditional in-office culture. Half of that team—including me, Susan Donohoe, and Julie Price-Shehan—are still with the organization today.
Are we retrenching? Hardly. Since first crossing the threshold of our Old Town office, we have transformed to meet the needs of our members and stakeholders in ways we couldn’t have imagined back then. From launching a business insurance program with just one employee, which now serves over 500 IT & Engineering Staffing clients led by Don Beemer, CPIA, LUTCF and Jill Norton, Health & Benefits Brian Drummond, to creating the M&A Marketplace for valuations and facilitating buying and selling of industry firms John C. Larson and Steve Norris, innovation has been at the heart of our journey. Most recently, we introduced TechServe 360, our back-office services offering. By integrating payroll, HR administration, compliance, benefits, insurance, billing, and accounting and leveraging a modern tech platform, we bring together our decades of industry experience with real-time business intelligence to drive IT & Engineering Staffing Firm growth and profitability. And the momentum doesn’t stop there—there’s more to come.
From those early days in an office overlooking the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, our budget has grown nearly fivefold, and we now operate as a highly skilled team spread across eight states. Closing our long-time Alexandria office is less about looking back and more about embracing the new. It’s a reminder that organizations, like the industries we serve, must evolve to thrive.
As one door closes, others open—sometimes ones we never imagined. We are deeply grateful for the leaders, members, clients, team members, stakeholders and partners who have been part of this journey. What about you? How has your organization evolved, and what exciting doors are you opening next?
