I attended the Society of Broadcast Engineers board of directors meeting this morning. I’m the immediate past president of the SBE, which make me a voting member of the board. One order of business was to approve a nomination for the membership grade of Fellow of the Society.

If you don’t know what that means, the SBE by-laws define a Fellow:

“A member who has rendered conspicuous service, or is recognized as having made valuable contribution to the advancement of broadcast engineering or its allied professions, dissemination of knowledge thereof, the promotion of its application in practice, may be elected a fellow of the Society.”

The board approved the nomination of John Heimerl, the chief enterprise officer of Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association in Norfolk, VA. Congratulations, John.

There was another nomination that was evaluated by the board before the meeting, but was kept confidential by one member of the board. It was kept a secret from me. Why? Because I was nominated.

I was informed near the end of the meeting, and I have to admit that I was very pleased and surprised.

I know many Fellows of the SBE. I have worked with quite a few, including several past presidents. I have learned a great deal from all of them. I now have the honor of being included in their ranks.

Thanks, SBE.