Boswell, Pecena, Orban Win Top SBE Awards

Recipients of the 2012 SBE National Awards have been announced by the Society of Broadcast Engineers. Presentation of the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year Award to Wiely Boswell and the James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year Award to Wayne Pecena, takes place during the SBE National Meeting in October along with other chapter and individual awards.

“One of the important responsibilities of the society is recognizing and rewarding excellence in broadcast engineering. These great engineers and society chapters demonstrate the qualities indicative of our membership. We look forward to celebrating their achievement at our national meeting in Denver,” said SBE President Ralph Hogan.

Wiely Boswell, the Robert W. Flanders SBE Engineer of the Year, is the chief engineer for Faith Radio in Montgomery, Ala., and is the current chairman of SBE Chapter 118. Boswell is a graduate of the University of Alabama, with a major in electrical engineering technology.

Boswell is recognized for making significant contributions to the field of broadcast engineering through his work at Faith Radio and for furthering the goals and objectives of the SBE.

Wayne Pecena, the James C. Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year, is the assistant director of educational broadcast services in the Office of Information Technology at Texas A&M University. In this position, Pecena serves as the director of engineering of TTVN; the enterprise videoconference and data network serving the Texas A&M system and public broadcast stations KAMU-TV and KAMU-FM. He has more than 35 years of broadcast telecommunications experience and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University. Pecena serves as a volunteer member the SBE Education Committee.

Orban is the recipient of the SBE Technology Award for its free BS.1770-2/R 128 and CBS Loudness Meter. It is available for Windows or Mac and includes a complete suite of measurements including momentary, short-term and integrated loudness as well as many other features. The free software can be accessed at www.orban.com/meter.

Doug Irwin is the Best Technical Article Award winner for his article, “Ethernet-based Audio Routing: A how-to guide”. The article can be found in the December 2011 issue of Radio magazine and online at: http://radiomagonline.com/studio_audio/routers/ethernet-based_audio_routing_1211/.

SBE Chapter 15, New York City is being recognized for Best Social Media Site and Best Frequency Coordination Effort.

SBE Chapter 24, Madison, Wis., is being recognized for its achievements over the past year with three awards including, Best Regional Convention, Best Chapter Newsletter and Best Chapter Website.

The SBE statistical awards recognize two chapters, based on chapter enrollment. Class A represents chapters whose membership is less than the national median. Class B includes chapters with a membership greater than the national median.

Chapter Awards

Greatest Growth in New Members Award

A — Chapter 146, U.S. Virgin Islands
B — Chapter 35, Kentucky

Most Certified Chapter Award

A — Chapter 96, Rockford, Ill. (tie)
A — Chapter 118, Montgomery, Ala. (tie)
B — Chapter 24, Madison, Wis. (tie)
B — Chapter 131, Inland Empire, Calif. (tie) 

Highest Member Attendance Award

A — Chapter 136, Rio Grande Valley (tie)
A — Chapter 145, Magic Valley, Idaho (tie)
B — Chapter 76, Eugene, Ore.

All awards will be presented during the SBE National Awards Recognition Dinner and Reception on Oct. 23 during the SBE National Meeting held in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Audio/Video Expo and the Engineer’s Boot Camp in Denver.