InfoComm Doles Out Deserved Award
InfoComm International recently announced the recipients of its new Women in AV and Young AV Awards. Presented at InfoComm 100, a new conference designed to bring together top AV industry thought leaders and volunteers, the Women in AV Awards went to Deborah J. Britton, CEO of K2 Audio of Boulder, Colo., and Bridget K. Cline, president and CEO of Industrial Strength and Pilot House Audio Visual of Pinellas Park, Fla.
InfoComm International recently announced the recipients of its new Women in AV and Young AV Awards. Presented at InfoComm 100, a new conference designed to bring together top AV industry thought leaders and volunteers, the Women in AV Awards went to Deborah J. Britton, CEO of K2 Audio of Boulder, Colo., and Bridget K. Cline, president and CEO of Industrial Strength and Pilot House Audio Visual of Pinellas Park, Fla.
Also presented at InfoComm 100, the Young AV Awards went to Steve Garber, president, BP Marketing Group, and James Maltese, president, Audio Visual Resources (AVR).
InfoComm created the Women in AV Award to raise awareness of the growing role of female professionals in the field of audiovisual technology. The Young AV Award was created by InfoComm to recognize up-and-coming professionals in the audiovisual industry.
Deb Britton manages AV and acoustic design projects for K2 Audio, ranging from local recording studios and schools to the new audio system for the U.S. Senate Chamber. She has taught classes in audio networking, chaired an audio networking panel for the Audio Engineering Society, and lectured to group for Women in Engineering
Bridget K. Cline has been the owner, president, and CEO of Industrial Strength and Pilot House Audio Visual for five years. During that time, she quadrupled the company’s warehouse space, acquired several trucks for local and national shows, opened offices in the Midwest and California, and achieved an increase in sales that has doubled each year she’s been in control of the company. Her rental and staging company specializes in corporate productions and provides a range of services, including national tours for pharmaceutical clients, large and multi-day annual meetings and award shows, video production, and destination management.
“Both Deb Britton and Bridget Cline have reached the highest level achievement in the audiovisual industry,” said Randal A. Lemke, executive director of InfoComm, in a statement. “We are fortunate to have such strong female leaders who can both mentor and inspire the next generation of audiovisual professionals.”
Steve Garber began his professional outsourced sales and marketing company, BP Marketing Group in Savage, Minn., in 2001. Starting with representation for only one manufacturer, Garber grew his business to include representation of more than 16 manufacturers in 18 states.
Jim Maltese is responsible for the growth and development of his company’s operations staff. He has been an instructor for the InfoComm Academy, a CTS-D and CTS-I candidate evaluator, a retest evaluator, a reviewer for InfoComm Academy content (including the AV Installation Manual, Second Edition), and various course content materials.
“In a relatively short time, Steve Garber and Jim Maltese have left an indelible imprint on the audiovisual industry and InfoComm International,” said Lemke. “If the future of the AV industry hinges on their knowledge and record of success, I know the industry will be in good hands for generations to come.”
