NSCA received a number of tributes to Randy Vaughan after his passing on December 23, 2010. We will all miss him dearly. These are just a few of the remembrances written by NSCA members and leadership.Brenda Brown, Synergetic Audio Concepts (SynAudCon)
Like so many people, Randy had a very special place in our hearts. He was a very kind man. When I think of Randy, the words "Mover and Shaker" comes to mind. He had great ideas and he did something about them. He got things done. He loved and truly cared about our industry.
In the 80's and early 90's, Randy was an assisted instructor to Don Davis. Randy became sick at the last moment and had to cancel. Don & Carolyn was desperate for an assisted instructor. Since Pat and I lived an hour south of Don & Carolyn, Don called Pat. That was the beginning of today's SynAudCon. We often joked with Randy about this as we gave him the credit for us now owning SynAudCon. Although we all know there was a much higher being orchestrating this.
Chuck Wilson, Executive Director, NSCA
To my knowledge, Randy accomplished something no one else had done. He served on both the NSCA and CEDIA boards at the same time and was elected to serve as the chairman of each board. As you think about that, imagine the time commitment it takes to go through the various officer positions to accomplish this. But, well beyond that, think about the respect he earned from the leadership of two different industry segments.
For a guy who may not have even owned a pair of socks, he sure did well in life as he did in business. There are many lessons (beyond his sales and marketing skills) we can take away from knowing him. The best one, I believe, is how he managed to balance work, play and family time.
Ron Pusey, President/CEO, Communications Specialists
I first met Randy as a staunch competitor back in the late '80s. Sometime in the early '90s I had been working diligently with an owner and A/E firm designing a project that had public money involved so we had to create a prior approval process that was very stringent and involved. The ONLY respondent to the prior approval was Ambassador Enterprises. I was summoned by the A/E firm to review the approval submission and recommend its approval or denial based upon my review. You folks had to have seen this thing to appreciate it. It was about three inches thick, bound, full color…in a word, b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. No one was more disgusted at this marvelous prior approval package than me! There was simply no way to recommend denial. When the bid documents came out only CSI and Ambassador Enterprises were allowed to provide pricing for the project. Well about a week after the docs were released I mustered up some courage and called Ambassador and asked to speak with Randy. Now mind you, up until this point in time, Randy and I had NEVER had a direct conversation of any type so I had no idea what to expect. I explained the situation to him, while Randy sat quietly on the phone listening to me and then the moment of truth…I asked him not to bid the job. Dead silence….more silence…then Randy spoke only these words….”I’ll get back to you.”
Well a few days later, out of the blue, the phone rang and my receptionist called into my office and said “Randy Vaughan is on the phone.” When I answered the phone all Randy said was… "OK I’m out.” Again dead silence. Finally I asked “why?” and Randy, in his calm and gentlemanly voice said “because you did it right.” You called me like a man and simply asked. That’s all it takes. I’m out. Good luck.” And the conversation ended there. That day Randy and I began a relationship that has grown in strength and mutual respect over some 20 years. I have never forgotten that lesson. And we were never again competitors.
Tom Frerick, President/CEO, Copp Systems Integrator
Randy was a very large man in a very small industry. He will always be remembered by Grace and myself as one of the most caring generous individuals we have had the pleasure of being associated with
