When a steady rain moved in on the morning of the 2013 AUSA Wounded Warrior Golf Classic, what did the nearly 180 participants do? They soldiered on, of course! This year's tournament, with BearCom and Motorola Solutions as lead sponsors, raised $43,000 for two Dallas-area charities helping injured servicemen and women.

The latest news on the machine-to-machine (M2M) industry points to even faster growth in M2M and identifies the business sectors that stand to be most impacted. Strategy Analytics says M2M will grow from $45 billion in annual revenue in 2013 to an amazing $242 billion in 2022.

I'm not the only superhero here at BearCom. We've got people with amazing levels of experience and expertise in two-way radios and other wireless solutions who every day solve complex and unusual challenges for customers.

All across the country, declining state and local revenues have caused budget cuts to numerous public safety agencies. Fire departments, with limited funds and the admonishment to do "more with less," are looking for two-way radio solutions with affordability as a major factor. Fortunately, there are options. In Los Angeles, the fire department's budget for the 2011-2012 year was $472 million, down from $561 million two years earlier. Last year, the city council voted to leave 318 firefighting positions unfilled.

The Motorola BC130 has been a winner for years, and now it's official. This BearCom-branded two-way radio has been recognized in the Contractors' Top 50 New Products awards made annually by Equipment Today magazine and ForConstructionPros.com. The awards are based on reader interest in earthmoving, road-building, lifting, demolition, transportation, and technology products.

It seems everyone is talking about healthcare. This week, the health insurance exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Many wonder what this means for their individual care plans. Now more than ever, hospitals need to reduce costs and increase efficiency through any means available. Digital wireless technology offers a clear path to improved productivity. Most hospitals are anxious to try new technology.

Sure, almost everyone has a smartphone these days, but the little jewels don't work everywhere all the time, and there are times when we don't carry them. Fortunately, other wireless technologies fill those voids. One of them is remote call boxes, which will be used to keep people in Southern California safe as they enjoy the outdoors. The Los Angeles River biking and walking path is a busy place. All day and night, riders and walkers make use of this lengthy urban path.

Innovations can dramatically influence the logistical needs of any industry. So when technological advances helped unlock natural gas and oil from shale formations, it meant growth for the petrochemical industry and an increased need for digital wireless solutions. As a result of the boom in shale gas, ExxonMobil has made plans to expand the capacity of its petrochemical complex on the Gulf Coast. The Baytown, Texas, complex will be tasked with converting ethane, a natural gas liquid, into the chemical building block ethylene, and from that to produce the plastic polyethylene.

Across the country, the public's safety remains a top concern of governments and citizen alike. Getting more policing while holding down costs seems to be on a lot of people's minds. Judging by several recent news accounts, governmental organizations and policing agencies appear to have found a key force multiplier in the form of IP video surveillance. The term is used in several stories describing how video surveillance systems are being used to fight crime.

BearCom is getting even bigger in Florida.