Stottler Named SCTE Member of the Year
Acknowledged for having "a lot of heart," a surprised Brenda Stottler, regional manager, ARRIS, took home the SCTE Member of the Year Award yesterday.
Following the litany of honors that is the annual Awards Luncheon and a mouth-watering speech by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell about the delicacy otherwise known as a cheese steak, Stottler was credited for turning a technical roundtable workshop into "one of the most successful first-time features ever."
"When it comes to her passion and drive for the Society, nothing can stop her," said Master of Ceremonies Les Read, about Stottler, who serves as the vice president of not one, but three SCTE chapters: Great Plains, Heart of America, and Iowa Heartland.
Accepting her award, a humble Stottler said: "Being a part of SCTE is you learn from the best of the best. I got this because of all of you." Another triple play The remaining two honors in what Read called the Awards Luncheon "triple play" were the induction of the now-retired Eugene White into the SCTE Hall of Fame and the presentation of the Chairman’s Award, given this year to both Frank Drendel, chairman and CEO, CommScope, and Robert Stanzione, chairman, president and CEO, ARRIS. The pair were selected by Chairman Tom Gorman for providing "critical support" related to the realignment of the trade show schedule.
"The arduous change process successfully resulted in aligning the industry’s annual events beginning in 2009 into a spring week and a fall week. The task was monumental, so thank you, Frank, and thank you, Bob, for your expert help in ensuring a smooth transition and favorable outcome for SCTE," Gorman said. Carolina and TWC on our mind Communications Technology presented Time Warner Cable Carolina Region with the System of the Year Award, in part for its "willingness to test and embrace new technology." The magazine will donate $2,500 to the SCTE Foundation on behalf of the company.
Time Warner also was indirectly acknowledged when Cyndee Everman, the company’s vice president, operational support systems, was presented with the 2008 Women in Technology Award. Most recently involved with the company’s Customer Value Creation program, Everman is a 2003 WICT Walk of Fame nominee and is the president of the WICT Carolinas Chapter.
Remarking that there are many more women in cable than when she began her career in 1981, she said, "Still, as an industry, (we) have an opportunity to help improve the statistics even further." Excellence all around Kevin Gantt, SCTE IPS vice chair and product engineer, CommScope, was presented with the Excellence in Standards Award. "2007 was a banner year of productivity, with IPS accounting for more than half of the (SCTE standards) program’s standards production," said Charlie Kennamer, chairman of the SCTE Engineering Committee.
Three members received senior member recognition this year: Jeff Porter, sales director, Northeast, for Mixed Signals; Keith Grunberg, sales engineer, Charter Communications; and Joe Cutrona, broadband engineer Cox Communications.
On the other end of the spectrum, soon-to-be college freshman Sean Burris was awarded the $20,000 Shapp Scholarship. Burris is the son of Don Burris, project manager with Corning Gilbert in Glendale, AZ. He plans to study engineering at Arizona State University.
– Monta Monaco Hernon
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