Driving the Smart City Future: SOS 2026 Summit Highlights

The SOS Summit brought together 65 global leaders, innovators, and partners physically in Vancouver, Washington, and virtually across 7 countries and 9 U.S. states. The event convened Smart Optimal Solutions manufacturing partners, SOS staff, consultants, international representatives, investors, government officials, community leaders, installers, and clients to align on the future of clean energy and smart infrastructure.

With an overall evaluation rating of 4.6 / 5, attendees described their experience in three key words: Inspiring, Visionary, and Energizing.

Welcome Reception: Evening Kickoff

The summit officially commenced on the evening prior to Day 1 with an exclusive welcome reception hosted by Col. Jeff Williams (CTO, CEO of SOS Global) and his wife, Anna Marie, giving attendees, global representatives, and partners an opportunity to connect before the main sessions.

Day 1: Vision, Global Reach, and Groundbreaking Innovations

Day 1 opened with attendee introductions, followed by an inspirational devotional delivered by Col. Jeff Williams.

Executive Keynote & Global Strategy

• Year in Review & Company Vision: SOS leadership presented the company’s mission, vision, and core values. While current-year sales targets faced headwinds, the presentation highlighted a strong, expanding sales pipeline with key deals on the verge of closing to drive a powerful Q4 and position the company for multi-year momentum heading into 2027.
• International Panel: Country representatives and global distributors from Cameroon, Mexico, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and Malaysia shared strategic updates on building smart infrastructure across their respective regions.

Technology & Product Announcements

• Agamine Solar Streetlights: Bernhard Kolk, CTO and Co-Founder of Agamine Solar, presented key developments in street lighting technology, reinforcing Agamine’s commitment to providing the world’s most resilient solar-powered streetlights.
• North American Production: John Kiepke (SOS Director of Product Development) and Ricardo Baker (CEO of Industrias RS) unveiled the new and improved Agamine Pole manufactured in Mexico—marking the first North American-made Agamine Solar Pole.
• Consultant Pricing Application: Jay Baldwin (SOS Director of Finance) introduced a custom application developed to streamline and simplify solar streetlight pricing for SOS consultants.
• Strategy Reboot Session: Susan Schramm (CEO of Go to Market Impact) led an interactive session focused on de-risking strategy and enhancing cross-stakeholder team alignment.

On-Site Tour & Historic Ribbon Cutting

Following the afternoon conference sessions, attendees toured the 10,000 sq. ft. SOS Warehouse and Technology Innovation Center. Before sundown, SOS conducted a formal ribbon-cutting and commissioning ceremony for the first Agamine Solar Powered Streetlights in Portland at Verde—a community solar farm powering local homes.

Day 2: Integrated Solutions, Data Monetization, and Partner Ecosystems

Day 2 emphasized the core SOS differentiator: understanding client operational needs through consultation and custom solution design before recommending specific products.

Smart Infrastructure & Technology Insights

• Eco-Real & Green Canary Partnership: Summer Fowler (CEO of Eco-Real and Green Canary) outlined her company’s commitment to supporting communities and municipalities in constructing smart buildings and resilient infrastructure.
• Agamine Roadmap & Dark-Sky Compliance: Bernhard Kolk presented the Agamine technology development roadmap. Khalid Cherifi (Agamine Technical Director) demonstrated the Agamine online lighting platform, highlighting optical engineering that reduces light pollution and minimizes off-grid/hybrid deployment costs without sacrificing performance.
• Data Monetization & Platform Strategy: Melvin Ong (CEO/Founder of Karuna) presented SOS Signal, a proprietary smart city platform built for SOS to manage urban infrastructure, track KPIs, and process data and Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).
• NRG Credits: Barry Redman (COO of SOS) detailed NRG Credits, a strategy created to improve the measurement, tracking, and monetization of RECs.
• Collaborative Monetization Panel: A joint panel featuring Bernhard Kolk, Khalid Cherifi, Summer Fowler, Melvin Ong, and Barry Redman explored how combining infrastructure deployment with data and energy credit monetization directly funds future clean energy initiatives.

Integrated Security & Display Technologies

• Remote Video Security Monitoring: Seth Barcus (Director of Customer Success at Becklar) demonstrated why Agamine Solar Poles serve as the ideal platform for outdoor remote video security monitoring.
• Smart Displays: Bob Culliton (US Operations Manager for InfinityPro Display) shared updates on Infinity products and their integration into smart city infrastructure strategies.
• Susan Schramm wrapped up the afternoon with Part II of the Strategy Reboot, focusing on risk mitigation across implementation workflows.

Day 3: Annual Investor Update & Public SOS Forum

Investor Session

Day 3 began with the Annual Investor Update, presenting a transparent review of operational and financial performance:

• Market Dynamics: Strategic pivots from product-only sales to integrated solution delivery, macro-economic conditions, and shifts in federal energy policies impacted near-term sales targets.
• Growth Outlook: The company’s sales pipeline continues to expand, with Q4 conversions expected to establish strong momentum for 2027.
• Investor Engagement: Bernhard Kolk challenged investors to contribute active network access alongside investment capital to accelerate pipeline opportunities.

Public SOS Forum

The annual public forum welcomed community members, government leaders, and industry partners to discuss clean energy adoption and explore upcoming innovations.

• Municipal Leadership Keynote: Mayor Eric Overholser of Battle Ground, Washington, shared his municipal vision for achieving net-zero targets and modernizing public services through smart technology.
• Product Resilience: Bernhard Kolk detailed the engineering features that make Agamine the premier resilient, future-proof Smart Solar Streetlight.
• Stakeholder Sustainability Panel: Facilitated by Summer Fowler, this panel featured Cary Watters (City of Portland Sustainable Procurement Program Manager), Katherine Juengle (Prosper Portland), Melissa Von Borster, and Renee Ward (VP of Government Affairs at SOS). They discussed strategies to maintain momentum in renewable energy investments despite challenging market environments.
• Smart City Architecture: Melvin Ong presented on the structural benefits of smart city engineering, followed by a concluding Q&A panel with SOS manufacturing partners and smart infrastructure suppliers.

Looking Ahead

Thank you to every attendee, speaker, and organizer who made this year’s Summit an extraordinary success. Together, we are building connected, resilient, and sustainable communities around the world.

We look forward to seeing you at the 3rd Annual SOS Summit in 2027!

Connect With Us

To learn how Smart Optimal Solutions can help your organization lower energy costs, improve efficiency, and build smart infrastructure, visit smartoptimalsolutions.com.