Guests at the annual Northern Virginia Technology Council’s annual Hot Ticket Awards came dressed for a beach but weathered a brief summer storm Wednesday, June 26 in McLean. Hosted by NVTC President and CEO Bobbie Kilberg at her home, the awards recognized the region’s technology companies.

“The awards are to celebrate companies in the region’s technology community who exhibit that special something that makes them ‘hot.’ Vision, the ability to implement and delivery, innovative management approaches and star quality charisma,” said Mark Anderson of BDO, who served as master of ceremonies for the evening. “This year NVTC received more than 130 nominations for the award categories, which is the most ever, and very impressive.”

More than 500 people attended the event, a record for the event’s 12 years. In addition to the awards, guests sampled a wide variety of Virginia wines and participated in a Hawaiian clothing contest.

“This is the second year we’ve been in the NVTC, and we love it,” said Jose Hernandez of JP Morgan Chase. “We love spending time with the members, who are all in the technology sector around the region.”

Nine awards were given out, everything from “Hottest Bootstrap,” the company that has shown growth or increased their presence without relying on traditional investors, to “Hottest Company Culture,” to the company that retains its talent and gives back to the community. The awards also play a part in NVTC’s programs throughout the year.

Kilberg said the award winners will be participating in the second year of their Hot Ticket Insight Series. “This past year we launched a new event series, based on what we’re doing here tonight, the Hot Ticket Insight Series, designed to help technology companies grow past the startup phase to sustainability and success,” she said. “The series features past Hot Ticket Award winners, finalists and highlights their best practices and innovative management practices. We’re going to continue the series with the finalists and winners here tonight.”

More information can be found at www.nvtc.org.