Awards

This award's overall purpose is to call out an individual recognized by association members and the industry as worthy of a lifetime achievement award. Two major criteria are applied — the career accomplishments and the individual's contribution to the AV industry through AVIXA. The Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed on an industry member by the association. 

Read about how AVIXA renamed the Distinguished
Achievement Award in memory of Mackey Barron

2017 Mackey Baron Distinguished Achievement Award

Jim Bowie, President and CEO of Electrosonic

With a career in AV spanning 30 years, Bowie has been a pioneering systems engineer to now the CEO of Electrosonic. Bowie has been very active with AVIXA for years, supporting training programs and the Certified Technology Specialist® (CTS) program. In 2011, Bowie launched an apprentice program at Electrosonic. The unique, one-year program exposes individuals to the company’s core departments, allowing them to gain a deep understanding of project flow and business strategy.

This award highlights important contributions made by industry individuals to the science of AV. The award calls attention to the AV and information communications industries by recognizing pioneers who made scientific breakthroughs resulting in new AV technologies that impacted the manufacture and sales of novel products enjoyed by audiences worldwide.

2017 Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV Award

Russell Gentner, President and CEO, Listen Technologies

Gentner founded Gentner Communications (now ClearOne) in 1981. He developed the first channelized acoustic echo canceler for telephone and videoconferencing applications. In 1997, Gentner founded Listen Technologies to provide wireless audio solutions for applications such as assistive listening, guided tours, and language interpretation. He is passionate about raising awareness of hearing loss issues, advocating for greater accommodations to help those with hearing loss, and educating people about listening solutions.

This award recognizes Certified Technology Specialist™ holders (CTS, CTS-D and/or CTS-I) who are achieving rewarding and successful careers in the audiovisual and information communications industries.

2017 CTS Holder of the Year Award

L. William Nattress III, CTS-D, CTS-I
Director of Channel Strategy, Biamp Systems

Nattress has been active with AVIXA for 17 years, serving important roles with the Professional Education and Training Committee (PETC), the Certification Subcommittee, the Board of Directors, and the Leadership Development Committee. He was instrumental in the development of AVIXA’s CTS certification, which has become the industry standard.

This award highlights important contributions made by an individual to the professional development, education, and training of the AV industry. These contributions have impacted audiences worldwide. This award is presented annually for outstanding achievement in AV education for that particular year.

2017 Educator of the Year Award

James Maltese, CTS-D, CTS-I
President, Audio Visual Resources Inc.

Maltese has been an instructor for AVIXA for the last 15 years, teaching design and prep classes in addition to delivering presentations on industry quality and trends. He is also a monthly contributor to Sound & Communications magazine, where he shares his expertise on a wide-range of AV topics.

This award recognizes women who are achieving rewarding and successful careers in the audiovisual and information communications industries.

2017 Women in AV Awards

Patty McGoldrick, CEO and Founder
Immediate Connections Inc.

McGoldrick began her business Immediate Connections, Inc. more than 30 years ago with $3,000. Now, with seven offices across the U.S., her company generates sales revenues in the millions providing AV staffing for live events. McGoldrick has been a member of AVIXA’s Rental and Staging Council since 1992 and co-founded the Independent Technical Services Council in 2009.

Mahua Mukhopadhyay, Director, AVID India Pvt. Ltd.
Executive Vice President, IAV India

In 2008, Mukhopadhyay joined IAV India, which is currently among the top five AV systems integrators in the Asia-Pacific region. That same year, she co-founded AVID India, an award-winning AV/IT services company. Mukhopadhyay has been successful in establishing mandatory training and certification within both organizations. Additionally, she leads the Women of InfoComm Network in India.

This award calls attention to individuals who contribute to the association’s mission. This award winner is determined by AVIXA staff.

2017 Volunteer of the Year Award

Jason Brameld, Technical Director
Torpedo Factory Group

Brameld is heavily involved in developing standards for the AV industry. He is the former Chair of AVIXA’s Standards Steering Committee and has served on various task groups devoted to publishing not only standards accredited by the American National Standards Institute, but also industry-specific AVIXA standards on practices such as cable labeling and racking building. He speaks internationally about standards, including at plenary sessions at the InfoComm show.

This award calls attention to the AV industry by recognizing that young people are achieving rewarding and successful careers in the audiovisual and information communications industries.

2017 Young AV Professionals Awards

Megan Dutta, Editor
Systems Contractor News

After taking over management of the Peerless-AV marketing team in 2013, Dutta created a cohesive message for the company, guiding its image from a display mount manufacturer to its current position as a leading AV solutions provider. She has been a member of the AVIXA Exhibitor Committee since 2007 where she works closely industry peers, InfoComm show exhibitors, and AVIXA staff to develop new policies to improve the annual tradeshow. She is also Chair of the InfoComm Exhibitor Advisory Committee for 2017.

Wallace Johnson, CTS
Vice President of Business Development
Mertzcrew

Johnson is avidly involved with AVIXA, having served on PETC for four years, the Young AV Professionals Council and the 2016 AV Executive Conference planning committee. In addition, Johnson is currently Chair of the Live Events Council. At the age of 28, he was promoted to Vice President of Operations for the live events division at AVI-SPL, where he grew the department in scale, services, and profitability. In his current role at Mertzcrew, he focuses on providing an AV software platform that supports the live events community.