350 custom integration professionals came to Phoenix to talk about business. On Tuesday evening, they did something else entirely.
In a single night, the Azione Unlimited community raised $150,000 for the Brynn Wheeler Foundation, which supports children diagnosed with cancer and the families fighting alongside them. Members also assembled care packages of toys, games, clothing, and essential items for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Nobody was required to do any of it. That was the point.
“What happened Wednesday night wasn’t something we planned into the agenda,” said Patrick McCarthy, Executive Director of Azione Unlimited. “Our members just showed up for something bigger than themselves, the same way they show up for each other. That’s who this community is. We talk a lot about the fact that we’re not a buying group that happens to have community. We are a community that happens to have buying power. Phoenix didn’t illustrate that our members did.”
Recognizing the Best of the Membership
At the Welcome Reception, Azione honored dealer and vendor members whose work over the past year set the standard for what the association aspires to be at its best.
“We’re recognizing the dealers who not only drive results, but who consistently show up, stay engaged, and truly care about the success of this family,” said Nicole Riddle, Director of Membership.
2025 Vendor Award Winners:
- Azione Anchor: Patrick Laidlaw, AiSPiRE | WAC Lighting
- Profit Rocket: madVR
- Brand Adoption Award: IC Realtime
- Trailblazer Award: Epson
- Rising Force: ICE Cable
- People’s Choice Award: Sonance
- People’s Choice Award: Apex Technologies
- Collective Compass Award: Angela Larson, Savant Systems
2025 Dealer Award Winners:
- Azione Anchor: Nick DeClemente, Elevated Integration
- Profit Rocket: Donny Carlyon, HAAS Home Technologies
- Brand Champion: Kyle Steele, Global Wave Integration
- Trailblazer Award: Don Dixon, Definitive Electronics
- Rising Force: Jonathan Wadden, Wadden Electric LLC
- Azione MVP: Josh Little, Evolve Technologies
- Commitment Award: Tony Granberg, Evolution AVA
Four Days Built Around One Idea
The Perspicacious Phoenix drew 350 attendees over four days, the largest gathering in Azione history. The record numbers mattered less than what the format was designed to produce: the kind of honest, peer-to-peer conversation that changes how someone runs their business when they get home.
Brand Ambassador Meetings brought dealers and vendor partners together without a podium between them, trading real stories about what’s actually working in the field. Dealer and vendor-led small groups replaced outside voices with inside expertise, built on the belief that the answers most integrators are searching for already exist somewhere in the membership. A Family Feud-style session on power and energy turned a technically demanding topic into one of the most competitive and entertaining hours of the week.
Seven Showcase Suites gave members extended hands-on time with products and the people behind them. Participating partners included Sonance and James, Savant, Sonos, Epson, Monitor Audio, Nice, Samsung, and Sony. Attendees also experienced a stop on the Sonos Amp Multi Tour and an exclusive first look at Sony’s full 2026 roadshow.
Azione heads into the second half of 2026 with its largest membership, its strongest attendance on record, and an identity sharpened by four days in Phoenix. A community for the community is not a position the organization adopted. It is a description of what the membership has always been, and what they proved this April again.
Learn more at AzioneUnlimited.com.
About Azione Unlimited
Azione Unlimited is The Smart Home Association™, a community of more than 300 custom integration dealers and over 55 carefully selected vendor partners. Azione brings dealers and vendors together to build relationships, share ideas, and prosper. Members access a nationwide peer network, educational initiatives, leadership symposiums, and national conferences.
See also: Nationwide Marketing Group Launches NMG Builder Initiative
