CE Hall Of Fame Inducts Its Class of 2009
By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 10/20/2009
Phoenix - The Consumer Electronics Hall Of Fame inducted its class of 2009, which included eight individuals and two teams of inductees, during a gala dinner at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Industry Forum, here.
The inductees (listed in alphabetical order) include industry luminaries who founded retail chains, helped the development of HDTV and founded manufacturing operations, as well as a longtime member of the media.
The CE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 is as follows:
- The Cohen Brothers: Maurice, Norman and Philip grew their father's Cambridge tire store in Boston into the discount retail giant Lechmere Sales that specialized in consumer electronics products. They also were part of the founding group of the National Appliance and TV Merchandisers.
- Dr. Joseph Flaherty demonstrated HDTV to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in 1981 and also gave demonstrations to Federal Communications Commission and other officials. He worked to establish the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Systems, leading to the ATSC standard.
- Karl Hassel and Ralph Mathews created the Chicago Radio Laboratory in 1919, later renamed Zenith Radio, which became the largest manufacturer of black and white sets in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Dr. Irwin Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm in 1985 and developed the OmniTRACS tracking system for trucks - the largest satellite-based commercial mobile system for the transportation industry. He also led the global commercialization of CDMA technology.
- Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, joined fellow co-founder Steve Wozniak into the Hall of Fame. Jobs helped to create one of the first desktop computers, the Mac; revolutionized portable music and how we buy music; and made the world think differently about cellphones.
- Aaron Neretin was editor of Merchandizing Magazine and covered CE for Home Furnishings Daily, now called HFN. He later founded Neretin Associates, a retail market intelligence firm.
- John Shalam founded Audiovox, a leader in mobile and consumer electronics. Shalam has served on several CEA committees and is now chairman of the investment committee and was first chair of CEA's wireless division.
- Walt Stinson is president and co-founder of the Denver-based Listen Up audio/video specialty chain. He also co-founded the Professional Audio Video Retailer's Association (PARA). CEA and PARA joined in 2004.
- Neil Terk, founder of Terk Technologies, introduced the Pi antenna in 1987. He was very involved in CEA, serving on the executive board, the board of industry leaders, and as chair for both the accessories division and antenna subdivision. Terk passed away in 2003.
- Dick Wiley, as former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, played a pivotal role in the development and adoption of the U.S. digital television broadcast standard. He was a champion for HDTV and advocated an all-digital system.
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