Helen Keller National Center is first recipient of ICIA Shines Initiative, receives $100,000 in AV products and services
May 24, 2005 4:10 PM
The International Communications Industries Association (ICIA) has named the Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) as the first beneficiary of the ICIA Shines Initiative, a program matching the expertise of audiovisual professionals with organizations in need of AV technology to enhance communications. HKNC received nearly $100,000 in products and services from ICIA and its member companies for its training facility in Sands Point, N.Y. Installation will be completed later this month.
“AV technology will greatly impact our training seminars for professionals in the field of deaf-blindness,” said HKNC Executive Director Joseph McNulty. “In addition to serving these professionals, wireless mics, amplifiers, individual display screens, even the wheelchair-accessible lectern, will assist individuals who are deaf-blind to more fully participate in our events.”
The AV installation is in a new 2,400-square-foot wing of HKNC’s Leona and Harry B. Helmsley Conference Center and features a significant audiovisual infrastructure, including a Walkerduct system and floor boxes that allow cabling to run underneath the floor and power displays for individuals seated in the auditorium. A rear projector room, large displays and screens, speakers, microphones, headphones, switchers, a control system, and other equipment complete the AV system.
This project began as a vision of Jeff Loether at Electro-Media Design, who saw the need to assist HKNC. As he began working on it, he reached out to his fellow members on the ICIA Independent Consultants in AV Technology (ICAT) Council, which adopted it as a project. As the project developed, ICAT brought in the ICIA Sound, Audiovisual, Video Integrators Council (SAVVI), and the ICIA Shines project was born. These two councils represent the AV design and integration communities and their joint efforts, along with donations from manufacturers, have made this project a success.
“It has been rewarding to see our members lend their expertise to make a difference in the lives of deaf and blind individuals,” said Randal A. Lemke, Ph.D, executive director of ICIA. “AV technology enhances communications for everyone, everyday. It’s so fitting that we could bring the benefits of AV to an organization as deserving as the Helen Keller National Center.”
Altogether, 14 ICIA member organizations and individuals contributed to the HKNC project:
Platinum Level:
- Electro-Media Design, Rockville, Md. (design consulting services and equipment)
- ICIA (project management and equipment)
Gold Level:
- Crestron Electronics, Rockleigh, N.J. (complete control system with touchscreen)
- FSR, West Patterson, N.J. (PC video interfaces, audio matrix switchers, wallplates, amplifier)
Silver Level:
- ACE Communications, Lynbrook, N.Y. (installation services)
- Audio Video Resources, Williston Park, N.Y. (system commissioning services)
- Cardone Solomon & Associates, Northport, N.Y. (digital audio mixer, matrix mixers, and processor)
- Joseph Bocchiaro III., Ph.D., CTS-D, ICIA (consulting services and equipment)
- Kramer Electronics, Hampton, N.J. (video scaler)
- Large Screen Displays, Santa Ana, Calif. (rear projection mirror/frame system)
- Listen Technologies, Sandy, Utah (auditory assistance system)
- Pro Sound, Miami (mixer, power amplifiers, speaker assemblies)
- Shure Brothers, Niles, Ill. (audio distribution amplifier, wireless microphone systems)
- Stewart Filmscreens, Torrance, Calif. (front projection screen)
ICIA is considering future ICIA Shines projects. For more information, contact Duffy Wilbert at [email protected]. To learn more about ICIA Shines, visit www.infocomm.org/foundation.
