Two previous winners of the Frank Stewart Volunteer of the Year Award, Eddie Raymond, left, and Bill Sapsis, right, presented the 2006 honor to Ken Vannice, middle.

Photos/Courtesy of ESTA

ESTA (the Entertainment Services and Technology Association) announced winners of several awards at its annual dinner on October 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2006 Eva Swan Award, ESTA's highest honor, was presented to Mike Wood for the profound impact he has had on every aspect of the association through his volunteer service. 

Mr. Wood's service to ESTA includes the Technical Standards Committee, Fog & Smoke Working Group, ETCP Council, two terms as president of the Board of Directors, and currently as the association's treasurer. The award was presented by Lori Rubinstein, ESTA's executive director, who cited examples of Mr. Wood's depth and breadth of knowledge and diversified skills which benefit not only these groups but which he freely shares with other committees and working groups within ESTA.

The Eva Swan Award is presented to a member who has put forth exceptional efforts in time, expertise, and personal resources on behalf of ESTA; been instrumental in shaping and promoting the strategic direction of the Association; made major contributions to the realization of the mission, goals and objectives; and enhanced the value of membership for all.

Ken Vannice and the RDM Task Group were awarded the 2006 Frank Stewart Volunteer of the Year Award, which recognizes extraordinary effort by a volunteer or group of volunteers during the previous year. Mr. Vannice earned the award for his work on leading the development of the ETCP Entertainment Electrician Examination, and the RDM Task Group earned it for their work in developing ANSI E1.20, the Remote Device Management standard. Mr. Vannice was named a USITT Fellow in March 2004 in part for his work on standards.

Mr. Vannice's award was presented by two of last year's Stewart Award winners, Eddie Raymond and Bill Sapsis, who led a spirited acknowledgment of the enormous amount of work Mr. Vannice has put into creating the new ETCP credential and for whom it is the realization of a decades-long dream.

Steve Terry, Co-Chair of the TSP Control Protocols Working Group, presented the second award to Scott Blair, Javid Butler, Milton Davis, Gary Douglas, Doug Fleenor, Bob Goddard, Tom Grimes, Wayne Howell, Charles Reese, Tracy Underhill, and Peter Willis, the core members of the RDM Task Group. Mr. Perry spoke of the passion, technical expertise, and creativity required to accomplish standards work and commented, "Nowhere is this passion more evident than in the work of the E1.20 RDM task group. They have successfully created and published the first major functional extension to DMX512 in 20 years: ANSI E.20 Remote Device Management."

The award was created to honor Frank Stewart's incomparable service to the association during the 18 years he served as treasurer.

ESTA also announced the winners of the 2006 Dealers' and Manufacturers' Choice Awards.

The Dealers' Choice Customer Service Awards offer ESTA's Dealer Members the opportunity to recognize manufacturers that provide consistently good customer service. Dealers vote for manufacturers in categories based on the number of employees: one to six, seven to 25, and over 25. The winners for 2006 are Doug Fleenor Design, Inc., Pathway Connectivity Inc., and Apollo Design Technology, Inc.

The Manufacturers' Choice Dealers of the Year Awards offer ESTA's Manufacturer Members the opportunity to recognize dealers that "just do it right." Manufacturers vote in the same three categories. The winners for 2006 are Indianapolis Stage Sales & Rentals, Inc., Production Advantage, Inc., and Stage Equipment & Lighting, Inc.

The Dealers' Choice Product Awards recognize outstanding entertainment technology products in three categories, and were established to recognize the enormous impact dealers have on the success of a new product, as well as a unique perspective on its merits. The 2006 winners are:

Expendable Category – Faux Snow from SnowMasters Evaporative Snow Systems, Inc; Widget Category – Lex Eectrol Plug-in Splitter from Lex Products Corp. and Equipment Category – Power Assist from J.R. Clancy, Inc.

The Customer Service and Dealer of the Year Awards were presented in conjunction with the LDI 2006 show on October 19 and the Product Awards were presented during the LDI 2006 awards ceremony on October 21.

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Mike Wood, below, winner of ESTA's 2006 Eva Swan Award.