  The Association for Broadcast and Multimedia Technology Professionals Posted April 24, 2024  SBE Promotes Cummis, Russell and Trautmann to SBE Fellow The SBE has elevated SBE members Andrea Cummis of Orange, NJ; Robert “RJ” Russell of Magnolia, DE; and Conrad Trautmann of Trumbull, CT; to the membership rank of Fellow. The SBE Board of Directors elected them at its meeting held April 13, 2024. (Pictured, left to right: RJ Russell, SBE President Ted Hand (who is already an SBE Fellow), Andrea Cummis, Conrad Trautmann.)  Andrea Cummis, CBT, the CTO of WLVT-TV Bethlehem, PA, became an SBE member in 1996. She has served on the SBE Board of Directors as president (2021-2023), vice president (2019-2021), treasurer (2009-2011, 2013-2017) and as a director several times between 2003 and 2019. She currently serves as the immediate past president. While she chaired the SBE Publications Committee, the SBE released the SBE Engineering Handbook. She received the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award in 2022.  Robert “RJ” Russell, CPBE, ATSC3, CBNT, is president of Technical Broadcast Solutions, Inc., a company he established in 2017, and the frequency coordination manager for the SBE. In his work for the SBE, he manages frequency coordination issues with the US Department of Defense in shared spectrum. He has held high-level engineering positions with Fox, E.W. Scripps, BYU Broadcasting, Sprint-Nextel, as well as engineering positions at multiple broadcast TV stations. He has served the SBE nationally with terms as vice president, treasurer and director. In 2020 he was awarded the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year award. He became an SBE member in 1999. He is also a member of SMPTE, IEEE/BTS, ATSC, and the AFCCE. He is a Marine Corps veteran.  Conrad Trautmann, CPBE, is the chief technology officer of Cumulus Media, a position he has held since 2021. He previously served as senior vice president, technology and operations for the company. He first joined Cumulus Media’s Westwood One in 2000 as executive vice president, technology. He is responsible for the oversight of companywide broadcast engineering and information technology, as well as purchasing, real estate and facilities management across the company. He serves on the Radio Technology Committee of the National Association of Broadcasters. Conrad joined the SBE in 1985. He has served on the SBE National Board of Directors from 2001 to 2003, 2005 to 2007 and in 2011. He has also served New York Chapter 15 in a variety of roles including chapter chair, treasurer and certification committee chair. The Fellow honor is the highest membership level in the SBE. Members must have made significant contributions to the broadcast engineering field or the SBE. Candidates are nominated by their peers. Since the Society‘s founding 60 years ago, 89 members have been honored with the Fellow rank. All three were recognized during the SBE Membership Meeting held on April 15 during the 2024 NAB Show. They will also be recognized at the SBE National Meeting, which will be held in September in Madison, WI. A list of all those who have been named SBE Fellows is posted on the SBE website at sbe.org/fellows. SBE Announces Certification Exam Dates for 2023 The SBE Certification Committee offers several opportunities to take an SBE certification exam through local chapters. When you’re ready to take an SBE certification exam, choose the exam period that is best for you. November 3-13, 2023 Local Chapter September 8, 2023 September 8, 2023 The Certification Committee may add additional exam locations during the year. In addition, private proctoring can be arranged. Contact the SBE National Office for more information. When you are ready to take an SBE exam, complete the appropriate application and send it into the SBE National Office. You will be notified once your application has been approved. Approximately three weeks before the exam time, your local certification chairman will receive a list of applicants in his/her area. He/she will then contact those applicants to schedule a date, time and place for the exams. The exams will be mailed back to the National office for grading. The pass/fail grades will then be mailed directly to the applicants. Make Plans Now to Attend the SBE 2023 Leadership Development Course The SBE has presented the SBE Leadership Development Course since 1997, with its roots going back to 1965. Designed specifically for broadcast engineers who have or aspire to have management responsibilities, the SBE offers the course in cooperation with instructor Dr. Abram Walton, the Founder of Ivory Bridge Group, a management consulting and training firm. The course helps technically adept people develop their abilities in leadership, supervisory and management skills. The course is equally beneficial for those who are already in management and for those without prior management or supervisory experience. The three-day event will be held August 2-4, 2023, in Atlanta. The course challenges you to refine your leadership skills as you better understand and improve how you interact with others. Bring a team and share the experience of this highly interactive event. Come, enjoy, learn and have some fun growing as a leader in the process. Registration includes all course materials, three days of instruction, the Leadership Development Webinar Series of three webinars, a certificate of completion, light breakfast items and classroom beverages.  Dr. Abram Walton is the founder of Ivory Bridge Group, a full-tenured professor of management at Florida Tech, specializing in management and innovation, serves as a U.S. Delegate for ISO 56000 on innovation management system standards, and has been actively researching in the fields of innovation management, business analytics, and product lifecycle management for the past 20 years. Registration for the course is now open. Make your plans to attend the SBE Leadership Development Course right now. BE Membership Meeting and Awards Dinner Set for Sept. 28 The Society of Broadcast Engineers Annual Membership Meeting and National Awards Dinner will be held during the SBE National Meeting at the Midwest Broadcast and Multimedia Technology Conference, Sept. 28. The Membership meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. ET, and the Awards Dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. SBE President Andrea Cummis begins the Membership Meeting, which includes the induction of the new officers and board members. During the meeting, Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, ATSC3, DRB, will be sworn in as SBE president. Ted will conclude the Membership Meeting and emcee the Awards Dinner. The Awards Dinner includes the presentation of national individual and chapter awards including the Robert L. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year, the James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year, and the SBE Technology Award. Awards recognizing chapters for communication, chapter meeting attendance, chapter growth and chapter certification percentage will be presented. The Membership Meeting will provide an update on SBE activities, present the installation of the newly elected officers and board members. Following the meeting a reception and then the SBE National Awards Dinner, where the honorees from the SBE Awards Program will be recognized and a keynote from Andrew Carey, general manager of the Bob & Tom Show, will be presented. Registration for the MBMTC is required. Tickets for the SBE Awards Dinner must be purchased separately. |
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