AVIXA has announced the winners of its annual awards and will recognise the recipients at the InfoComm 2020 Connected virtual show.

The awards are designed to recognise outstanding AV professionals for their contributions to the industry. The list of awards includes the Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV, CTS Holder of the Year, Educator of the Year, Fred Dixon Service in Education, Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement, Women in AV and Young AV Professionals awards.

New for 2020 are the Emerging Talent and Event Design of the Year awards and the Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year Award.

“Day in and day out, AV professionals leave impressions on the people they meet and the spaces they help create,” AVIXA chief executive David Labuskes says.

“Each year, AVIXA is honored to shine a spotlight on individuals who are helping the industry grow, whether it’s through teaching, breaking down barriers, or pioneering new technology and ideas. Congratulations to the 2020 AVIXA Awards winners and thank you for all your contributions to the AV industry.”

The winners are:

• Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV Award: Bruce Howze fellow engineer, Biamp president and Community Professional Loudspeakers founder
• CTS Holder of the Year Award: Mark Higgason, CTS-D, CTS-I Encompass Audio Visual executive vice president and partner
• Educator of the Year Award: Jonathan Brawn, CTS Brawn Consulting principal
• Emerging Talent Award: Edinys Guzman Lincoln Tech student
• Event Design of the Year Award: Meredith Francsis BlackOak Technical Productions senior creative producer
• Fred Dixon Service in Education Award: Steve Thorburn, PE, LEED-AP, CTS-D, CTS-I Thorburn Associates principal
• Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year Award: Lisa Perrine, Ed.D. Cibola Systems chief executive
• Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award: Ben Adams IATSE international representative
• Women in AV Award: Sarah Becher, CTS-D, CTS-I AV Calibrations project engineer and Melissa Ross, CTS Special Projects Group senior engineer
• Young AV Professionals Award: Sean McChesney CTS Electrosonic experience technology consultant and Gregory Rushton, CTS-D Muley & Banani Audio Visual Inc. vice president