National

SBE National Re-elects Jim Leifer as President

(By Chris Scherer, SBE Communications Director) The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announces the results of the 2018 election for the national board of directors. Jim Leifer, CPBE, was re-elected as the society’s president. Leifer is senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation, Andover, MA.

Jim Leifer, SBE President

Regarding the election, President Leifer said, “I thank SBE members for their support and the Board of Directors for their work over the last year. Looking ahead, I am eager to discuss the ideas from the SBE strategic planning meeting held in June, and then implement those approved by the SBE Board of Directors. This will enhance the membership experience as we embrace new technologies and new ways of performing the work of the SBE.

Others serving one-year terms as officers, which begin on Oct. 3, are:

  • Vice President: Robert “RJ” Russell, CPBE; president, Technical Broadcast Solutions, Inc.; Middletown, DE
  • Secretary: Wayne Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE; director of engineering, Texas A&M University – KAMU-FM & TV; College Station, TX
  • Treasurer: Jim Bernier, CPBE, CBNE; senior director, Techwood Engineering; Turner; Atlanta, GA

Serving two-year terms on the board of directors, which also begin Oct. 3 are:

  • Stephen J. Brown, CPBE, CBNT; director of broadcast engineering, Woodward Radio Group; Appleton, WI
  • Roswell Clark, CPBE, CBNT; senior director of radio engineering, Cox Media Group; Clearwater, FL
  • Kirk Harnack, CBRE, CBNE; senior solutions consultant, Telos Alliance; Nashville, TN
  • Vinny Lopez, CEV, CBNT; chief engineer, WSTM/WTVH/WSTQ-TV; Syracuse, NY
  • Thomas McGinley, CPBE, AMD, CBNT; president, McGinley Enterprizes; Missoula, MT
  • Shane Toven, CBRE, CBNT; field engineer, Educational Media Foundation; Laramie, WY

The national board of directors of the SBE is responsible for the development of policy and determines the programs and services the society provides to its more than 5,000 members. Those elected will begin their terms on Oct. 3, 2018, during the SBE Membership Meeting. They will join the other six directors who have another year remaining in their terms (Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO; CTO, WLVT-TV, Roseland, NJ; Mark Fehlig, PE, CPBE, 8-VSB, senior systems engineer, Jampro Antennas/Alan Dick, Walnut Creek, CA; Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, director of engineering/operations, Cox Media Group, Charlotte, NC; Stephen H. Lampen, CBRE, consultant, San Francisco, CA; Kimberly K. Sacks, CBT, director of engineering, iHeartMedia, Loveland, CO; Kevin Trueblood, CBRE, CBNT, director of engineering, WGCU Public Media, Estero, FL; and Jerry Massey, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE, director of technical operations, Entercom Greenville Spartanburg, who remains the immediate past president.

The SBE National Meeting will be held Oct. 2-3, 2018, in Danvers, MA, in conjunction with the Media Resource Expo (MRE).