ARCIA industry award winners

The annual ARCIA Industry Excellence awards were presented at the annual Industry Gala Dinner in December.

Each year during the ARCIA annual Industry Gala Dinner, outstanding members of the communications community are publicly recognised for their excellence through the Industry Excellence awards.

All ARCIA members actively involved in the Australian radiocommunications industry are entitled to nominate and be nominated. Each award is determined according to specific criteria, including commitment, leadership, innovation, teamwork and service.

Here are the winners and nominees for 2015.

Professional Sales Award

The winner of the Professional Sales Award was Mark Waite-Pullan from Progility. The citation read: “Mark is a true sales professional. He takes the time to really understand the business of the customers he serves, and uses his technical prowess to scope the solution that adds the greatest value to the customer. Mark has also helped to develop product solutions to aid his customers gain the best use of their radio systems. With his attention to detail, customers trust Mark to deliver, and he does.”

The other nominees for this award were Rob Howes (Direct Communications), Chris McAvinue (GMG Solutions), Malcolm Davies (Radlink Communications), Frank Armijo (Sepura), Allan Billington (Comtel), Lennie White (Tait Communications), Vicki Williamson (Simoco) and Bruce Forward (Omnitronics).

The award was presented by Geoff Spring of APCO International and ARCIA committee member John La Cava. APCO, a sister organisation to ARCIA, provides information and education that is relevant to the public safety market. APCO and ARCIA work together in many areas of common interest.

Customer Service Award

The winner of the Customer Service Award was Dina Roubis from Telechnics. The citation read: “Suppliers are justifiably proud to have people like Dina representing their brand. Dina has been in her role with Telechnics for over 22 years and has been doing a world-class job managing product distribution across Australia and New Zealand for the past 12 months. Many clients have commented on her excellent service.”

The other nominees were Charlotte Able & Monique Los (Direct Communications), the Motorola SMO Team, Aldo Antolini (Motorola Solutions), David Johnston (Motorola Solutions), Jacqui Tanner (BAI Communications), Jeff Perry (Tetracom), Sealon Persich (Omnitronics), Matt Pickering (Tetracom) and Jimmy Whelan (Radlink Communications).

The award was presented by Paul Stathis of BICSI South Pacific and ARCIA committee member Denis Colbourne. BICSI South Pacific is heavily involved in the data and IT industries, and works with ARCIA to bring the two sectors together so that both markets can grow.

Technical Excellence Award

The winner of theTechnical Excellence Award was Beau Heron from Radlink Communications. The citation read: “Beau has worked tirelessly integrating advanced solutions over TETRA voice radio networks including FMG’s Rail project. Beau implemented multiple system first applications, with excellent outcomes such as lightning warning channels, emergency tones operating over multiple talk-groups, geo-location advance warning for blast zones and other excellent operational improvements, exhibiting technical excellence of a high degree.”

The other nominees were Riccardi Raiti (CSE Crosscom), Matthew McDonough (Direct Communications), Jay Pinder (Sepura) and Peter Brennan (Vertex Standard).

The award was presented by Mark Loney from the ACMA and ARCIA committee member Graham Rallings. ARCIA works closely with the ACMA and was pleased to have Mark present to represent the chairman and senior management of the ACMA.

Peter Wallace Award

This year ARCIA initiated a series of state-based awards as part of its regional events program, with the aim of recognising someone from each area of Australia who has contributed to the overall benefit of the industry and the communications field in general.

Peter Wallace was a long-time member of the radio industry in Victoria and worked with every major supplier and user group in developing and extending the use of communications. Peter was respected by all who knew him and was a highly professional person who always promoted the industry and communications.

The winner of the Peter Wallace Award was Nick Stefanou from Queensland. Nick is a long-term industry member and a well-known radio dealer in Brisbane, who has spent much effort in developing new applications for radio and has been involved in the emergence of digital HF radio as part of modern communications networks.

The other nominees were Ralph Dix (Western Australia), Bruce McDonald (NSW Rural Fire Service), Andrew Birks (South Australia) and Troy Abel (Vic/Tas).

The award was presented by ARCIA President Hamish Duff.

Engineering Elegance Award

The winner of the Engineering Elegance Award was Mark Thomas from Zetron.The citation read: “Mark's technical leadership exemplifies how engineering solutions can commit to diverse open standards with a common gateway architecture. This provides simplicity in implementation and vital scalability for control room customers, giving them choice to add or migrate to new communication technologies using existing control room cores. Mark’s design leadership has resulted in an innovative solution that also allows new digital protocols to be readily added to the infrastructure gateway as they evolve.”

The other nominees were Keith Wright (BHP Billiton), Chris Bird (Simoco), Thau Thai (Telstra), Peter Kinnear (Zetron), Ben Systermans (Telstra/Motorola GWN team) and Jimmy Whelan (Radlink).

The award was presented by Laurie McKenna from Engineers Australia and ARCIA committee member Kathryn Askwith. Our industry has many engineers at many levels and their ongoing training and support comes through organisations such as Engineers Australia.

Apprentice/Trainee Award

The winner of the Apprentice/Trainee Award was Shay Peled-Bolger from Miles Electronics. The citation read: “Shay has gained top marks during four block training sessions and shows maturity beyond his years when allocated tasks. During the past year he has provided support to two other apprentices by sharing the knowledge he has gained and assisting them in the workshop environment. He is always positive, easy to get along with and will always do that little extra for our clients.”

The other nominees were James King (Nixon Communications) and Sean O’Toole (Mastercom).

The award was presented by Mark Apps of the Riverina College of TAFE, along with ARCIA committee member Gary Botley. Training continues to be a cause of concern for ARCIA; it is presently exploring options for the Riverina TAFE to be able to offer apprentice training for the industry Australia-wide.

New Talent Award

The winner of the New Talent Award was Anita Jay from Tetracom. The citation read:  “Anita has focused on raising awareness of both the Tetracom brand and the entire radio industry by using social media, the company website and newsletter. Anita has been able to show leadership with the creation of the company’s marketing plan, enabling her to gain a better understanding of the company, competitors and the radio industry in general.”

The other nominees were Rebecca Brown (Motorola Solutions), Sevdale Corpuz (Tait Communications), Samuel Domain (Radio Warehouse), Brayden Hall (Radlink Communications) and Marty Andersen (Icom Australia).

The award was presented by Chris Pateman from the UK’s Federation of Communication Services, along with ARCIA committee member David Ruscitti. Similar in concept to ARCIA, the FCS provides many services to the communications industry in the UK.

Community Service Award

The winner of the Community Service Award was Chris Stevens from Surf Life Saving Australia.The citation read: “Chris is the Surf Life Saving Australia National Communications Advisor, a volunteer role that is selected by the board of directors and which Chris has held for the past five years. During this time he has displayed an amazing dedication to the development of surf lifesaving radio communications, and prior to which he dedicated many years in a voluntary role to planning communications for Life Saving Victoria.”

The other nominees were Steve Reining (JRD Communications), Ian Miller (Orange Horizons) and Simon Chan (Radlink Communications).

The award was presented by Steve Jenkins of the Australian Institute of Emergency Services (AIES). The AIES is the professional body dedicated to the progression and recognition of the vital role that members of emergency services organisations, and in particular the hundreds of thousands of volunteers, play in the community.

Jonathan Livingston Award

The winner of the Jonathan Livingston Award was Leo Doherty.

Leo started his working life as an apprentice in the Army, and perhaps this was where he learned the basics of being an excellent instructor and mentor. From the Army he then joined Motorola, where his management skills began to surface and his ability as a field technical officer was quickly noticed by the clients. He became involved in training for clients, especially government clients with major systems, plus he became a mentor to many young people in the industry.

Over time Leo has worked with several major organisations and has been respected by all. He is an excellent trainer and conducts training sessions with ease and the knowledge that the course participants will all have an excellent outcome. As someone with an apprenticeship background, Leo has risen above his peers to achieve excellence in many areas; he is an icon of our industry.

Pictured: Leo Doherty receiving his award from Ian Miller.