Kroger, P&G, Atos Origin, the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable, and twenty-three more companies joined forces with UC, Miami University, and NKU, to host "TechOlympics Expo 2010", under the leadership of the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati.

Nearly 400 students from 39 regional high schools converged on the Millennium Hotel for a three-day bonanza of video game competitions, high-tech demonstrations (from the likes of the U.S. Air Force), breakout sessions about careers in IT in the local business community, and 3-D graphics and new search engines. In between events, kids hung out in the ultimate teenager lounge, stocked with arcade games, an internet cafe, billiards, air hockey, ping pong, and a pile of bean bag chairs.

According to Jim Scott, Chief Technology Officer for the Kroger Co., "The goal of the TechOlympics Expo was quite simply to get regional high school students jazzed about high tech jobs in the Greater Cincinnati region and the career pathways that can lead them to these careers."

Doug Arthur, Executive Director of the INTERalliance and member of the business development team for Atos Origin, said, "There is no better way to engage a young person these days than to meet them where their passions are and take them to the next level of sophistication. TechOlympics Expo was designed to do exactly that, and from the wonderful reactions of the kids, we hit a home run on every account."

While the crowd of high schoolers was a highly diverse mix of computer jocks, football jocks, and just generally nice kids, the nerds really appreciated the high tech focus.

The overall winner of TechOlympics Expo 2010, getting to take home and keep the coveted three-foot high "INTERalliance Cup" for one year and defend it at the 2011 TechOlympics Expo, was Sycamore High School.

General consensus among the sponsors and students is that a new tradition has begun that will be repeated every year from now on. According to Arthur, the countdown to "TechOlympics Expo 2011" has begun!