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MillimeterA/V Excellence
Jun 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Cynthia Wisehart, Editorial Director
Last night (June 8) at InfoComm, the ICIA held its first gala awards banquet and packed the house. This banquet combined several awards programs and presentation events into a single evening, in the hope of building a new tradition and giving InfoComm a prestige evening event. In nearly every way, this inaugural AV Excellence Awards was a success. The ballroom was full (at least through dinner); the food was fine (a rarity at awards banquets); the awards ran smoothly and ended on time, and the staging — not surprisingly — was nicely done with hints of future potential. The gorgeous Barco MiPix that dominated the stage was glamorous enough on its own to set a glossy mood, as the gallant emcee, ICIA Secretary-Treasurer Randy Pagnan, maintained a slim advantage over the teleprompter. A good host and a good sport, Pagnan breezed through a repertoire of insider quips (MCSI.O.U) with a genuine affection for his task. So far, so good.
In addition to products awards given by CMP's Systems Contractor News and Rental and Staging Systems (chosen via reader poll), CMP, the ICIA, and ARCHI-TECH magazine recognized companies and individuals. These awards in particular illustrated some important values in the A/V industry and were gratifying to see.
In the spirit of the Oscars' Best Supporting Actor award, the evening's first award went to Christopher T. Miller as ICIA's first Volunteer of the Year. Though his day job is executive director of PSNI, Miller has served the ICIA for years in various capacities, last year adding foundation president to the list. In presenting the award, ICIA executive director Randal A. Lemke credited Miller for his work on ICIA's AVolution, Market Intelligence, and scholarship programs as well as his charitable work. Miller's list of accomplishments emphasized an important truth in an industry that demands much from its volunteers: A/V must on some level be a labor of love and community as well as a business. Otherwise, as ICIA president Scott Walker likes to say, you might as well sell insurance.
Also in the spirit of giving back, ICIA presented its long-standing Educator of the Year award to Mario J. Maltese. Maltese joins a stellar list of past winners in an organization that prioritizes education to a level few trade associations match.
For me, the highlights of the evening were the design and integration awards. Rental and Staging Systems presented a series of awards to staged events in budgets ranging from less than $10K to more than $200K, demonstrating the increasing creativity and competition in these events. For fixed installations, the ARCHI-TECH magazine awards for design and integration honor a personal passion of mine — the convergence of architecture and A/V. The six winners — including the Queen Mary 2, the National Constitution Center, Christian Dior Couture, Fashion Show (Las Vegas), Frank Gehry's amazing Richard B. Fisher Center, and Hangar One — exemplify the extraordinary potential for A/V to become a modern art form and a true aesthetic element of landmark buildings. The honored architects and systems integrators should be very proud of their collaboration.
The evening ended on a bittersweet note as industry icon and A/V consultant Hubie Wilke accepted his Distinguished Achievement Award from Scott Walker. Walker, himself an A/V consultant in the shank of his career, owes much to Wilke, who is credited with inventing the field. It was poignant to see the iconoclastic Wilke so clearly invoke the mortality of anyone's work and position in any industry. His candid, almost raw comments celebrated his international run, but also spoke heavily to the importance of mentoring and succession — and not just nostalgically. As Wilke mentioned draftsmen who ascended to VPs, honored deceased partners in crime, and accepted that his role was to step out of the way, it was clear that his reputation for cultivating others was no accident. In our industry, where cutting-edge technology soon becomes quaint, Wilke suggested how important it is to enjoy the heady ride that goes along with it. Though technical prowess is inevitably transient, the caretaking of relationships and opportunity is everyone's job one. That, and painting the town.
