- While celebrating its 70th anniversary, this year InfoComm is also celebrating several of its members with some new awards, in addition to its well-established recognitions.
- Adele De Berri, founder, Da-Lite Screen Company, has been posthumously issued the first InfoComm Pioneers of AV Award, an honor that will be issued annually to current or former employees of InfoComm member companies who have made an important contribution to the science of AV technology. De Berri invented the “silver screen” at the company she founded in 1909, De Berri Screen and Scenic Company, later renamed Da-Lite Screen Company.
- InfoComm’s highest honor, the Distinguished Achievement Award, was presented to Robert S. Simpson, who cofounded Electrosonic in 1964. Simpson is a frequent writer and lecturer on AV and lighting control topics, and is author of several highly regarded guidebooks. .
- L. William Nattress III, CTS-D, CTS-I, associate principal at Shen Milsom & Wilke in Chicago, was named InfoComm’s Educator of the Year. An AV expert, educator and youth leader, Nattress has served as a member of InfoComm’s Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC) since 1999. He is currently a senior faculty member for InfoComm Academy and has taught InfoComm’s design track courses and presented at InfoComm tradeshows worldwide. Most recently, Nattress played a key leadership role in the technical research and editing of InfoComm’s power and grounding curriculum.
- InfoComm also presented several awards in April at the InfoComm 100, a new conference designed to bring together top AV industry leaders and volunteers.
- The Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year Award went to Steven L. Somers of Extron Electronics. Somers worked extensively on the InfoComm Projection Shoot-Out and the Large Venue Display Gallery, and he coordinated the technical aspects of the Projection Shoot-Out events held at InfoComm events around the world. He has taught numerous courses over the years at InfoComm Shows internationally on display and interfacing technologies and applications, and has volunteered to serve on PETC for many years.
- The new Young AV Professionals Award, recognizing up-and-coming professionals in the AV industry, went to Steve Garber, president, BP Marketing Group and James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I, president, Audio Visual Resources.
- Another new award created to raise awareness of the growing role of female professionals in the industry is the Women in AV Award, which was presented to Deborah J. Britton, CEO of K2 Audio, and Bridget K. Cline, president and CEO of Industrial Strength and Pilot House Audio Visual.
