INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers has added two more names to its list of Fellows. At its April 24 meeting, the SBE board of directors voted to elevate James Leifer, CBPE, and Ralph Beaver, CBT, to its highest membership level. There have been 81 Fellows during the course of the SBE’s 56-year history.

Both will be recognized Sept. 23 at the SBE National Awards Dinner, which will be held in conjunction with the SBE National Meeting. This year’s meeting is scheduled during the SBE Chapter 22 Broadcast & Technology Expo in Syracuse, N.Y.

“They both possess and regularly demonstrate the skill, attitude, professionalism and dedication to broadcast engineering that are the benchmarks of an SBE Fellow,” SBE President Wayne Pecena (CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE) said in the announcement. Pecena also noted that he had worked with Leifer and followed Beaver’s efforts at the SBE.

Leifer is the senior manager of broadcast operations for American Tower Corp. and is based in the Boston metropolitan area, where he moved in 2017 for his present role working on the TV repack.

Leifer’s broadcast career kicked off in south Florida in 1987, he initially joined  SBE Chapter 53. In 2008, Chapter 53 elected him chapter chair, a role he fulfilled until 2012. While in Florida, he held engineering positions for iHeartMedia, Ion and Paxson.

Leifer is the SBE board’s current immediate past president. He served as president from 2017–2019, and prior to that was the board’s VP from 2015–2017. Leifer was the SBE secretary from 2011–2015, first joining the board in 2009. 

Several of his nomination letters characterize Leifer as a talented, competent and technically capable broadcast engineer, willing to help others. Leifer’s regulatory advocacy is also a standout, according to his peers.

Beaver, NFL general manager of frequency coordination and CEO of Media Alert LLC, is another long-serving SBE Floridian. He moved to Tampa in 1973, and joined Chapter 39 two years later. Beaver is active in the chapter’s Broadcast Engineering Symposium. 

Additionally, Beaver served on the national board  from 2002 until 2012, during which time he chaired the EAS Committee and then the Frequency Coordination Committee. In the latter role, Beaver worked with the SBE/NFL Game-Day Coordinator program, a position he was well suited to, since he had begun working with the NFL in 1999 as the Tampa game-day coordinator and Super Bowl coordinator for that same year. He took on his current role with the NFL in 2011.

Beaver’s nominations highlighted his EAS efforts as well as his frequency coordination work. One letter called him “a master of spectrum allocations and spectrum compatibility studies.”

The Society of Broadcast Engineers has formed five working groups tasked with initiatives that will help the society to attract, grow and retain membership, as well as increase participation.

These objectives were determined after a Strategic Planning Task Group reviewed 46 action steps identified at the original June 9 strategic planning meeting. SBE President Jim Leifer chaired the Strategic Planning Task Group and instructed the group “to prioritize, group and refine them to a manageable number,” and they reported back Oct. 2 with 14 action steps.

“This first round of tasks will lay a firm groundwork to help serve our current and future members more effectively and grow the SBE,” Leifer said in a press release announcing the plans.

Each of the five groups is chaired by executive board members and committees were assigned a staff liaison:

• Task Group One is chaired by Wayne Pecena and focuses on “Expanding SBE Membership Scope.” This group will “research the nontraditional tech professionals and begin to generate a list of other mediums that use similar skills and knowledge as traditional SBE members.”

• Kirk Harnack chairs Task Group Two, which works on the complementary goal of “Expanding Member Participation.” Part of this will include exploring a monthly virtual program.

• Task Group Three is led by Leifer and centers on public relations and marketing of the society. This group is tasked with considering whether the society should refocus its mission and/or rebrand. A report on their findings in due Oct. 15.

• Kevin Trueblood chairs Task Group Four, which is another PR-centric committee, but this one will create a first responder team that will help broadcasters during disasters.

• The final Task Group Five is headed by Roz Clark and is decidedly 21st century. They’re charged with updating the website and exploring whether or not the society should have its own app.

Also, the newly created Technologies Committee will be chaired by Shane Toven and is tasked with researching the resources and steps to accomplish the objectives. The committee is charged with “seeing that new technologies are integrated into SBE educational and certification programs.” Also, they will explore how to better educate an expanded membership and share this information with the Education and Certification Committees. New topics to integrate into the curriculum include 5G, streaming, OT and other non-traditional distribution mediums.

Other committees will also get in on the action.

The Certification Committee will review existing and consider new certification programs to make sure all relevant technologies are reflected.

The Publications Committee will create archive of program resources, such as tutorial videos.

The Social Networking Committee will improve and increase SBE social media presence with the goal of reaching a younger audience. Also, they will use state broadcaster associations and the NAB to promote the value of SBE membership.

And, naturally, the Board and Executive Committee will evaluate the progress of strategic planning objectives and action items.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers recently held its annual meeting. At that meeting committee chair assignments were made.

[Read: SBE Re-Elects Jim Leifer As President]

Here those are:

Awards: Tom McGinley, CPBE, AMD, CBNT

By-Laws: Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB

Certification: Ralph Hogan, CPBE, DRB, CBNE

Chapter Liaison: Mark Fehlig, CPBE, 8-VSB

Education: Wayne Pecena, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE

Fellowship: Troy Pennington, CSRE, CBNT

Finance: Roswell Clark, CPBE, CBNT

Frequency Coordination: R.J. Russell, CPBE

Government Relations: Kevin Trueblood, CBRE, CBNT

International: Charles W. Kelly Jr.

Membership: Steve Brown, CPBE, CBNT

Mentoring: Kimberly K. Sacks, CBT

Nominations: Vinny Lopez, CEV, CBNT

Publications: Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO

Social Networking: Kirk Harnack, CBRE, CBNE

Sustaining Membership: Stephen H. Lampen, CBRE

Technologies: Shane Toven, CBRE, CBNT

SBE Jim President Leifer, CPBE, said, “We have a wide range of talent and skills represented by our committee chairs. I look forward to working with all of them in the coming year to further the goals of the SBE and enact the plans being laid following our strategic planning conference held earlier this year.”

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INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers recently announced the results of its 2018 election for the national board of directors, with Jim Leifer being re-elected president. Leifer is the senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation in Andover, Mass. 

"I thank SBE members for their support and the Board of Directors for their work over the last year," Leifer said. "Looking ahead, I am eager to discuss the ideas from the SBE strategic planning meeting held in June, and then implement those approved by the SBE Board of Directors. This will enhance the membership experience as we embrace new technologies and new ways of performing the work of the SBE." 

Others serving one-year terms as officers, which begin on Oct. 3, are:

• Vice President: Robert "RJ" Russell, CPBE; president, Technical Broadcast Solutions, Inc.; Middletown, Del.

Serving two-year terms on the board of directors, which also begin Oct. 3 are:

• Stephen J. Brown, CPBE, CBNT; director of broadcast engineering, Woodward Radio Group; Appleton, Wis.

• Roswell Clark, CPBE, CBNT; senior director of radio engineering, Cox Media Group; Clearwater, Fla.

• Kirk Harnack, CBRE, CBNE; senior solutions consultant, Telos Alliance; Nashville, Tenn.

• Vinny Lopez, CEV, CBNT; chief engineer, WSTM/WTVH/WSTQ-TV; Syracuse, N.Y.

• Thomas McGinley, CPBE, AMD, CBNT; president, McGinley Enterprizes; Missoula, Mont.

• Shane Toven, CBRE, CBNT; field engineer, Educational Media Foundation; Laramie, Wyo.

The national board of directors of the SBE is responsible for the development of policy and determines the programs and services the society provides to its more than 5,000 members. Those elected will begin their terms on Oct. 3, 2018, during the SBE Membership Meeting. They will join the other six directors who have another year remaining in their terms Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO; CTO, WLVT-TV, Roseland, N.J.; Mark Fehlig, PE, CPBE, 8-VSB, senior systems engineer, Jampro Antennas/Alan Dick, Walnut Creek, Calif.; Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, director of engineering/operations, Cox Media Group, Charlotte, N.C.; Stephen H. Lampen, CBRE, consultant, San Francisco, Calif.; Kimberly K. Sacks, CBT, director of engineering, iHeartMedia, Loveland, Colo.; Kevin Trueblood, CBRE, CBNT, director of engineering, WGCU Public Media, Estero, Fla.; and Jerry Massey, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNE, director of technical operations, Entercom Greenville Spartanburg, who remains the immediate past president.

The SBE National Meeting will be held Oct. 2-3, 2018, in Danvers, MA, in conjunction with the Media Resource Expo (MRE). To register visit www.regonline.com.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers has teamed up with the Advanced Television Systems Committee to create a new Specialist level of SBE certification assessing proficiency in the ATSC 3.0 standard. The announcement was made at the ATSC's annual meeting in Washington D.C.

The ATSC 3.0 system, aka Next Gen TV, has been approved for deployment in the U.S., and the technology is already in use in South Korea, as demonstrated at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

[Read: 2018 NAB Show Marks Next Gen TV’s Arrival]

ATSC President Mark Richer explained in the release that the effort is part of the committee’s work “to support deployment of ATSC 3.0.”

“As broadcast engineering diversified beyond legacy technology, the SBE Certification Program also diversified by adding certifications for computer networking and IT, and then a series of specific Specialist Certifications for television transmission, AM directional arrays, and digital radio. With the industry preparing to implement ATSC 3.0, broadcast engineers must be proficient in the next-generation television technology,” SBE President Jim Leifer, CPBE, said in a press release announcing the initiative.

Once developed, the exam will consist of a 50 multiple-choice questions and one essay, as per the Specialist format. Also, in order to become certified as a Specialist, applicants must first be designated as CBT, CBRE/CBTE, CSRE/CSTE or CPBE — the core certifications of the SBE.

The SBE Certification Program was created in 1975 to provide standards of competence for the industry.

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INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers will be under new leadership, as Jim Leifer was voted to take over the role of SBE president. Leifer, who is the senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation, will take over for Jerry Massey when his term begins on Oct. 26.

Jim Leifer

The full results of the 2017 election for the national board of directors were been released. Others joining Leifer for one-year terms as officers include Robert “RJ” Russell, vice president of engineering and operations, WTXF-TV in Philadelphia, as vice president; Wayne Pecena, director of engineering for Texas A&M’s KAMU-FM & T, as secretary; and Jim Bernier, senior director, Techwood Engineering, as treasurer.

A number of new additions to the board of directors were also voted upon; they will begin their two-year terms on Oct. 26 as well. The newly elected board members include Andrea Cummins, managing partner at AC Video Solutions; Mark Fehlig, senior systems engineer for Jampro/Alan Dick Antennas; Stephen H. Lampen, multimedia technology manager/product line manager – entertainment products, Belden; Kimberly K. Sacks, director of engineering at iHeartMedia; Barry Thomas, director of engineering at KSE Radio; and Kevin Trueblood, director of engineering for WGCU Public Media.

Bernier had one year left on his term as the director of the board, so a replacement will be selected at the SBE National Meeting amongst the newly elected members of the board and the five other directors who have one year remaining on their terms.

The SBE National Meeting will take place in Denver from Oct. 25-26.