Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs topped the list of 2009 inductees to the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced the new Hall of Famers during its Digital Patriots dinner, held here April 22, which also presented its Digital Patriots award to Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) during the dinner.
The CE Hall of Fame, created in 2000, honors consumer electronics industry leaders who made vital contributions to the products and services that consumers value, CEA said.
Along with Steve Jobs of Apple, the following are part of CEA’s Hall of Fame class of 2009:
- John Shalam, founder of Audiovox, helped establish the aftermarket car audio business, the aftermarket security business and the mobile video business, and has served as CEA chairman;
- Neil Terk, founder of Terk Technologies, introduced the Pi antenna in 1987;
- Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, led the commercialization of CDMA technology;
- Karl Hassel and Ralph Mathews were the founders of the Chicago Radio Laboratory, which later became Zenith Radio;
- Walt Stinson, president and co-founder of the Denver-based Listen Up audio/video specialty chain, also founded the Professional Audio Video Retailer’s Association (PARA) in 1979;
- Norman, Maurice and Philip Cohen took their father’s Cambridge tire store in Boston and created discount retail giant Lechmere Sales that specialized in CE products;
- Richard E. Wiley, past chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), played a pivotal role in the development of HDTV, serving as chairman of the FCC’s advisory committee on Advanced Television Service for nine years;
- Dr. Joseph Flaherty demonstrated HDTV to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers in 1981 and also gave demonstrations to FCC and other officials; he also established the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Systems, leading to the ATSC standard; and
- Aaron Neretin, a consumer electronics journalist who wrote for Merchandising Week.
These leaders will be inducted into the CE Hall of Fame at a special dinner and ceremony during CEA’s Industry Forum to be held in Phoenix, Oct. 18-21.
More information about registering for CEA’s Industry Forum and attending the Hall of Fame Dinner are available at www.ce.org.
In presenting the Digital Patriot awards Gary Shapiro, president/CEO of CEA, said both Rep. Blunt and Rep. Meeks have been honored “for their tireless efforts to strengthen our innovation economy.”
Rep. Blunt was honored for building bipartisan support for the Columbia Free Trade Agreement and for “his leadership on HDTV,” CEA said. Rep. Meeks was honored for his “strong belief in the benefits of free trade to the global economy.”
Also at the dinner three new members were named to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers: Jonathan Collegio of the National Association of Broadcasters; Jason Oxman of CEA; and Dave Graveline, host of the radio program Into Tomorrow and podcaster of www.TWICE.com.
