The Society of Broadcast Engineers presented its Membership Meeting & Awards Presentation (MMAP) webcast on Sept. 23. The program, held online after the in-person events had to be cancelled because of COVID-19, combined the SBE’s annual Membership Meeting and Awards Banquet presentations into one online event.
In addition to the previously announced awards, including the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award to RJ Russell, CPBE, of Middletown, DE, and the 2020 James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year awards to Fred Baumgartner, CPBE, CBNT, of Elizabeth, CO, and Roland Robinson, CBTE, CBNT, CTO, of Tacoma, WA, the event also recognized other individual and chapter efforts, as well as the two newest SBE Fellows, Ralph Beaver, CBT, and Jim Leifer, CPBE.
The MMAP also added a special surprise event. The SBE John H. Battison Award for Lifetime Achievement recognizes and pays tribute to individuals for their dedication, lifelong achievement and outstanding contribution to broadcast engineering. Nominees are SBE members in good standing and have been active for 40 years or more in the broadcast engineering industry or a closely allied field that benefits broadcast engineering. Nominations can be made by any member of the SBE and will include the endorsement of three other SBE members. There is no more than one recipient per calendar year. The recipient for 2020 is Mark Persons, CPBE, AMD, CBNT.
Mark, a life-long resident of Minnesota, followed in the footstep of his father, who was also a radio broadcast engineer. Mark started turning transmitter knobs more than 60 years ago.
While reaching the rank of sergeant in the United States Army from 1967 to 1969, Mark was in charge of an avionics repair shop for the OV-1 Mohawk high-tech surveillance aircraft in Vietnam. After his military service, he spent the next ten years with KVBR radio in Brainerd, MN, where he became chief engineer. In 1977, he opened his own radio engineering consulting business, which he operated for the next 40 years. He married his wife Paula in 1978, and she became instrumental in running the business side of the business out of their home.
Mark has been a respected engineer in Minnesota and the upper Midwest his entire career. He built 12 commercial AM and FM radio stations, and rebuilt, upgraded, maintained and repaired countless other radio stations for clients. He has endeavored to share his knowledge and experience with others in the field. He has written more than 140 articles that have appeared in industry magazines and made more than 25 speeches and presentations at industry conventions, conferences and meetings.
Mark joined the SBE in 1981, and is now a life member. He holds three life certifications from the SBE. Outside of his broadcasting career, Mark is a member of the American Legion, The VFW and Disabled American Veterans. He enjoys amateur radio as WØMH, and photography.
Retired several years ago, he and Paula are mentoring younger broadcast engineers through the SBE Mentor Program. Mentoring is his way of giving back to the industry that kept him employed for more than 50 years.
On receiving the honor during the webcast, Mark said, “This really was a lifetime experience for me. I never had a plan B. I was always going to be a broadcast engineer, and that’s exactly how it came out. I want to continue to contribute to the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Thank you.”
After receiving and reviewing multiple applications, the field was narrowed to three people. From those three, one was recommended to the SBE Board of Directors, which was reviewed at a board meeting held on Sept. 22. The Board approved the appointment of James Ragsdale of Anderson, IN. Mr. Ragsdale will officially begin work on Jan. 1, 2021.
This year the Harold E. Ennes Scholarship recipient is Chris Gamelin of Middletown, CT. He says he knew he wanted to be involved with broadcasting since he was very young, whether it was playing music via the internet or broadcasting a basketball game at his school. His goals in broadcasting continue to evolve as he feeds his hunger to learn. He credits John Ramsey for teaching him the technical side, which is what Chris is pursuing. His professional work began with an internship at WQUN-AM. Since then, he has worked for iHeartRadio and Entercom Communications, and is now a maintenance technician for WFSB-TV.
Receiving the Robert D. Greenberg Scholarship is Jon Sanelli of Albertson, NY. Jon loves everything about broadcasting, and more specifically how it all works technically. He has worked on the engineering and production side in the New York City market at WRHU Radio Hofstra University, in addition to broadcast facilities in the five boroughs and the Tri-state. Jon knows that broadcasting needs technology, but more importantly, it is people that make the industry shine.
The John H. Battison SBE Founder’s Scholarship has been awarded to Ismail Otu, CRO, CTO, originally from the Bronx, but now living in Charlotte, NC. He graduated from The Broadcasting Production Technology Program at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) in Charlotte. He served on Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society’s Vice President Committee, interned at WTVI PBS Charlotte, and earned the Most Outstanding Student Award at the Student Excellence Convocation on behalf of the CPCC’s broadcasting program. Ismail plays several critical roles during live events and concerts for CPCC’s performing arts and events facilities including sound board operator and stage/audio technician. While having extensive experience working as an audio engineer, he is devoted to becoming well-versed in other technical areas. Enthusiasm for audio fuels Ismail’s IT skill development focusing on networking technologies. He plans to attend The Cleveland Institute of Electronics and major in Broadcast Engineering/Wireless Communication Electronics to pursue a career in broadcast operations.
The Gino Ricciardelli Scholarship, created earlier this year in recognition of Gino Ricciardelli, an SBE Charter, Life and Fellow member who died in 2018, has been awarded to Sadie Levy of New York, NY. She currently attends Northeastern University in Boston, where she is majoring in electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on media production. Sadie graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, where she worked on various school productions as a Digital Media Department Intern. Also, while in high school, Sadie was awarded scholarships to study digital electronics in pre-college programs at both The Cooper Union and New York University. Last summer, Sadie completed a media internship in a New York City government office, and this summer she is completing a media/design internship at ATEM NYC. Sadie is looking forward to contributing to the field of recording and new media.
Isaiah Dickson of Brookhaven, PA, received the Youth Scholarship. Isaiah is entering his freshman year at Cabrini University. He will major in digital communication and social media. His work has been recognized by the Population Media Center and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. He has been a part of the creation of a short film titled Marvelon as well as being part of the CollegeXpress student vlogger program. In his spare time he enjoys filming and editing his own videos, writing poetry, writing music, and live streaming.
The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announces the results of the 2020 election for the national board of directors. Wayne Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE, was re-elected as the society’s president. Pecena is the associate director of educational broadcast services at Texas A&M University who operates public broadcast stations KAMU FM & TV. He is a member of SBE Chapter 99 in College Station, TX.
Robert “RJ” Russell has been an SBE member for 21 years. During that time, he has served as director, treasurer, and vice president on the National Board of Directors as well as serving on several national committees. RJ also has held officer positions in various local chapters. He served proudly in the United States Marine Corps as a cryptography technician. After service in the military, he worked for several stations, including those owned by Media General, Sinclair, Cordillera, Catamount, Sunbelt, Univision, E.W. Scripps, and Fox.
Fred Baumgartner has been an SBE member for 47 years and has given countless hours to furthering the education of today’s broadcast engineers through his work with the Ennes Educational Foundation Trust for 17 years, he spearheaded the annual Ennes Workshop during the NAB Show, and recently produced the SBE presentation on NextGen TV during the 2019 PBS TechCon. One nominee said of Baumgartner, “He was supportive of my goals re: SBE and helped get me in touch with others in the organization to help me grow in my involvement and education.”
Roland Robinson has been an SBE member for 24 years. He is an instructor of classes in broadcasting and video production at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, WA. Robinson has taught at Bates for more than ten years implementing an SBE-approved certification curriculum in his broadcast classes. The curriculum was recently renewed unanimously by the SBE National Certification Committee, the members being impressed by the curriculum presented by Robinson. Robinson also serves on the Washington State Emergency Communications Committee (SECC) and provides a valued service to Washington State broadcasters by creating and maintaining the complex Required Monthly Test (RMT) schedule.
Each year the SBE membership elects members to serve on the national Board of Directors, the governing body of the society. This includes all four officers for one-year terms and half the 12 directors for two-year terms.
Nominations Committee Candidate Slate
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