Pictured are 2012 SBE Award winners who were presented with certificates and plaques during the annual SBE National Meeting.

There are a number of award categories to choose from.

Did your chapter offer a convention or conference this year? Does your chapter have a great website, social media outlet or newsletter? We have awards to fit all of these categories and more for SBE Chapters.

How about individual members in your chapter or across the United States. Is there one in particular who educates broadcast engineers through writings, teachings, programs and employment? The James C Wulliman SBE Educator of the Year award would be a good fit for that person.

This year, the SBE began the Chapter Engineer of the Year award, we have received a number of nominations. Has your chapter taken advantage of it?

There is still time to nominate your engineering community, let them be recognized for what they do!

Individual Awards nomination form

Chapter Awards nomination form

email the form to Megan Clappe at mclappe@sbe.org

View past winners of these awards

Taking place June 27, this webinar will inform you on these new licensed frequencies and the design do’s and don’ts for these frequencies. The webinar also looks at a live path profile showing what can be done today.

Click here for more information and to register for this Webinar by SBE.

Thanks to DoubleRadius for allowing us to make this webinar free to members of the SBE!

Strickland monitoring RF

The SBE RF Safety Course, presented by Richard Strickland of RF Safety Solutions, takes place at 1:30 p.m. ET on July 24.  Registration has been simplified so that attendees can participate from any location with Internet access. Among other topics, Strickland will discuss how to prove compliance at a broadcast site, the biological effects of RF radiation and the distinct differences between RF radiation and ionizing radiation, FCC and OSHA regulations and RF hazard protection equipment. 

A previous attendee of the course said, “Richard did a great job of providing examples, answering questions, and keeping the material interesting. I appreciate the ability to download slides for future reference.”

The course is designed for broadcast station personnel, including chief and assistant chief engineers, transmitter site engineers, ENG and SNG maintenance personnel and management that need to have an understanding of RF safety issues and regulations. For more information and to register click here.

Candidates considered for any of the four scholarships will have a career interest in the technical aspects of broadcasting. These scholarships are typically presented to applicants who have some work experience in broadcast engineering and who are interested in continuing their education in order to advance their careers. The deadline to apply is July 1, 2103. Here is the application.

The broadcasting technology world is quietly run by introverts like you and me. We tinkered with radios as teens, showed up at a local radio or TV station and eventually took a job caring for the equipment while others pursued the more social aspects of sales, news, and promotions. 

While technical introverts should feel no shame in embracing our lonely preferences, I recommend taking inventory of how your behavior may be limiting your career and ultimately a more full life. If you are not networking with other engineers, vendors, and broadcast managers, you are in danger of being left in the cold when looking for a new job, in line for a promotion, hiring help, or attracting clients as an independent consultant. 

You may not feel the need to build relationships when you have a long-time relationship with your present employer, but to do so is dangerous to your career. I’ve observed conditions change radically for well-respected engineers when employers review their budgets and decide that an engineer is suddenly deemed too expensive, or they decide to outsource. As a consultant, what if your client decides to cut you in favor a newer, less-expensive engineer?

Ask yourself a few questions:

• Is the management team you answer to aware of all of your station improvement initiatives? 
• Do you know what your colleagues in sales or news do when they are away from the station?
• Are you attending SBE meetings to network with your colleagues? 
• When you do attend an SBE meeting, do you make it a point to introduce yourself with a smile and ask questions of a previously unfamiliar attendee? 
• Do you volunteer as a leader for your local SBE chapter, scout troop, or as a mentor for a young person learning your trade?
• Do you spend uninterrupted, quality time with your key vendors, sharing information about your goals so that they can keep you in mind when another client needs technical help?
• Are you spending time with friends and family away from technology?

I recommend you push away from your big, comfy computer desk chair and get out a bit. Break through your comfort zone and over time–trust me–you will reap great benefits.

Gary Stigall, CPBE

SBE Board Member

Gary’s views do not reflect those of the SBE, or its Board of Directors.