The SCTE Dinner and Awards, 2007

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The 2007 SCTE Annual Dinner

The annual dinner and SCTE Awards ceremony were held on Saturday, 28th April 2007.

The venue this year was the Palace of Westminster in London.

Graeme Young, Deputy Editor of 'Broadband' the SCTE journal, was there. Here's his report.

Parliament: Aerial view.

All those in favor say 'Aye'

The evening began with a guided tour of the chambers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. After a Champagne Reception in the Terrace Pavilion with a grand view of the River Thames, river traffic and the slowly turning London Eye, the members filed into the Member’s Dining Room for the four-course meal. Dr Blakeway welcomed members and their guests to this 14th Annual Dinner in the Society’s 62nd year and thanked the Patron Members for their sponsorship.

In his reply to the President’s toast to “The Society”, Chris Swires, Treasurer, declared it to be his maiden speech in the house. He went on to express the thanks of the members to Dr Blakeway for his tireless work for the Society, and did not forget the staff at Wembley Park for their efforts throughout the year also. Chris also expressed the thanks of the members for a truly enjoyable evening, adding that these dinners were quickly becoming an elite multinational gathering.

In addressing the assembled members, Bill Olner M.P. who is chairperson of the Cable, Satellite and Digital Committee in the House of Commons – declared that this was a wonderful place in which to work, steeped in history and, casting politics aside, a good collection of people. In speaking of the imminent switchover to Digital TV he stressed that no-one should be disadvantaged by the changeover, the few who could not afford a set-top box would be accommodated. It was a delight to be with the Society at their Dinner, he said, and he would be equally pleased to present the awards.

Thanks to the Sponsors.

The SCTE gratefully acknowledges the support of the following companies who sponsored aspects of the dinner.

Champagne Reception and Place Cards	Sponsored by Harmonic Inc
Dinner Gifts	Sponsored by Technetix plc
Floral Decorations	Sponsored by Teleste UK
Brandies and Liqueurs	Sponsored by Motorola.
Menu Cards	Sponsored by Swires Research

Dr. Roger Blakeway thanks the sponsors.

Speeches and Toasts

In thanking the sponsors again for their generosity Dr Blakeway added his thanks to C-Cor, IBC and Segnet for their valuable support in the sponsorship of tables. Grace was said in Latin by Mr David Hall and was followed by a sumptuous 4 course dinner. Port and Brandy brought the finishing touches to the excellent meal and signaled the time for The Loyal Toast and a toast to The Society, both proposed by Dr Roger Blakeway. In his address he said that particular thanks for all her hard work must go to the Society’s National Secretary, Beverley Allgood, for the major burden of work fell upon her shoulders and she has striven to make this evening yet another huge success.

Turning to the Society’s status, he was pleased to report that the Society is going strong after 62 years with a healthy bank balance and stable membership figures that are actually increasing outside of the traditional UK base. In fact a third of the membership is now from outside of the UK. This year has seen a closer involvement with the Cable Europe Congress with the Society providing two, well attended, technical sessions.

To increase the awareness of the SCTE in Europe the Society has collaborated with International Broadband Library, a magazine published by Cathy Wilson, following a similar successful formula to that in the US. Cathy has been an enthusiastic promoter of the Society and we have already gained half a dozen new Patrons through her efforts. Broadband, our own quarterly journal, has enjoyed a wider circulation through an arrangement with ANGA and now features two technical papers in German, the current (April) issue will be circulated to their members and distributed widely at the ANGA show in May.

A significant proportion of the Society’s income is from our involvement as a Partner in IBC and their Chairman, Michael Bunce, was welcomed as Dr Blakeway’s personal guest. As part of the IBC involvement the Society has, over the past years, provided two Bursaries for the event to enable members, who would not otherwise be able through lack of funding, to attend the Conference and Exhibition. This is essentially provides a full conference ticket and £1000 to cover hotel and travel expenses. There is an announcement in Broadband and on the website and candidates were urged to apply. As part of the new accord with the North American SCTE a similar deal would be offered to their members.

Threatened demolition of their serviced offices in Wembley Park has caused the Society to seek a new home together with the CAI with whom office facilities have been shared for some time. An office building in the centre of Watford has been purchased and refurbished and both organisation will move into their new premises in early May.

In closing, Dr Blakeway paid tribute to the Society’s Executive Committee, all volunteers, for their hard work over the last year and for their support for him. A toast to the Society was then proposed.

Chris Swires Reply's

Bill Olner MP Addresses the Assembled

Technician of the Year Award

The recipient of the Technician of the Year Award was Network Technician Simon Hill of Virgin Cable. Simon has recently completed a redesign of the fibre distribution plant for over 300,000 homes with a significant reduction in customer faults.

Member of the Year Award

The Member of the Year Award went to Phil Landeg of Virgin Media. Phil has been involved in some pioneering work with Video On Demand which earned him the ntl Networks “Award For Excellence”. Today he holds the title of HFC Architect and has specialised in the characterisation and optimisation of the HFC return path.

Tom Hall Award

The Tom Hall Award marks outstanding service to the Cable Telecommunications industry and this year the award went to Professor Franco Mussino. A member of the Society for some 30 years, his illustrious career spans 45 years, having graduated in Electronic Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino in 1962. A shining beacon in the field of standards, last year he received the coveted IEC 1906 Award, celebrating their 100th Anniversary.

Honorary Fellowships

Two Honorary Fellowships were conferred, one on John Startin, member since 1996 and a staunch friend and supporter of the Society. The second Fellowship was awarded to Dan Stroie, a recent member but one responsible for setting up SCTE training courses for over 400 students in Romania.

Tony Ley receives an Honorary Fellowship from Roger Blakeway.

'Technician of the Year'
is awarded to Simon Hill of Virgin Cable

David Woollard receives an Honorary Fellowship from Roger Blakeway.

'Member of the Yearr'
is awarded to Phil Landeg of Virgin Media

David Keeley receives an Honorary Fellowship.

'The Tom Hall Award'
is awarded to Professor Franco Mussino

Suzanne, Shirley, Bev, Amanda & Fae

Thanks to the Organisers

Successful events don't organise themselves and the dinner would not be possible without the determined efforts of SCTE National Secretary and Honorary Fellow, Bev Allgood, and the office team to whom everyone present expressed their thanks.

Bev is already making plans for the 2008 dinner which is to be held at Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire on the 23rd February 2008.

Photo Gallery

There were so many great pictures from the event that we've created a separate gallery containing many photographs.

Please note that this gallery is in the 'Members Only' part of the site and you will be asked for your username and password if you are not already signed in.

Click here for the gallery.