The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announces the results of the 2022 election for the national board of directors. Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO, was re-elected as the society’s president. Cummis is the chief technical officer of PBS39/WLVT-TV, in Bethlehem, PA. She is the first woman to be elected to hold the office. She is a member of SBE Chapter 15 in New York City.
We are living at a crazy time, where it feels like stress and trauma are constantly around us. Collectively, we have been dealing with the COVID pandemic for two and a half years, and there is no end in sight. At work, everyone is expected to get more work done with fewer resources, all while keeping our staff safe from COVID, not to mention the constant worry about keeping ourselves and our families safe as well.
The Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award is presented to a member who has excelled in his or her career while furthering the mission of the SBE. The 2022 recipient is Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO, of West Orange, NJ, and a member of SBE Chapter 15 New York. The James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year award recognizes outstanding service and excellence in sharing knowledge through teaching other broadcast engineers. The winner of the 2022 recipient is Marcos O’Rourke, CBRE, CBNE, of Costa Mesa, CA, and a member of SBE Chapter 47 Los Angeles. [...]
For most of us, the annual trip to Las Vegas has been a regular event in many of our lives. I personally have been going to the NAB Show since 1981, only missing just a couple of the shows over the past 40 years. For those of us visiting from the east coast, it’s always been a much needed burst of sunshine that marks the end of winter. It’s always been a great industry show, where you can see the newest technologies, collect cool swag, and most importantly, connect with colleagues and friends from all over the world.
As long as I’ve been going to SBE meetings (far too many years to mention), one of the regular topics of discussion has been, “Where are the new broadcast engineers going to come from? How do we find young engineers and get them interested in what we do?” As many of us head towards retirement, there are very few people interested in filling our positions. Many engineers retire only to come back as consultants since there is still a need for engineers, but new talent is hard to find.
In December, I watched a terrific datacasting presentation from Erik Langner CEO of Information Equity Initiative that was part of the The Public Media Venture Group CTO meeting. From that, I asked Erik for more information to share with SBE members in my column. Datacasting is the broadcasting of data over a wide area via radio waves. Datacasting technology has existed for decades, used to deliver encrypted and targetable public safety data to police, fire and other first responders.
I’m honored to be elected to the prestigious position of president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. I’m particularly excited to be the first woman to serve in this role, and I see a key part of my mandate to lead the Society to achieve greater diversity. Having served on the SBE Board of Directors for nearly 20 years, I’ve had the unique privilege of working with the Society to adapt to the many changes in the digital broadcast landscape. We’ve also had many changes in the SBE over the last year. John Poray, the executive director since 1992, retired last year, and Jim Ragsdale became the new executive director.
