The Society of Broadcast Engineers has announced the results of the 2024 election for the national board of directors, which saw Ted D. Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, ATSC3, DRB, being reelected for a second one-year term as president.

The second term will commence on Sept. 11, 2024. Ted is a member of SBE Chapter 45 Charlotte (North Carolina), and an SBE Fellow Member.

"Looking ahead to my second term as SBE president,” Hand said, “I want to continue the work we have started with adding a new entry-level SBE certification, completing and publishing the additional SBE Station Self-Inspection Guides, and enhancing the SBE's international presence, including efforts in Australia." 

Hand has been an SBE member since 1981. He served as SBE vice president from 2021 to 2023, secretary from 2007 to 2011 and in 2015, and SBE treasurer from 2019 to 2021. He has served on the SBE Board of Directors several times: 2002-2004, 2005-2007, 2013-2015, and in 2018.

In addition the SBE reported that Kevin Trueblood, CBRE, CBNT, of Chapter 90 Southwest Fla. was reelected to vice president for a second one-year term. Kevin previously served as SBE treasurer. Kevin has also served as SBE secretary and served one year on the Board of Directors.

Geary S. Morrill, CPBE, AMD, CBNE (Chapter 91 Central Michigan), has been elected treasurer. Geary has served on the SBE Board of Directors since 2019 and is completing a one-year term as secretary.

Shane Toven, CPBE, DRB, CBNE (Chapter 43 Sacramento), has been elected to his first term as SBE secretary. He is completing his third two-year term as a director, first being elected in 2018.

Elected to serve two-year terms on the board of directors, which also begin Sept. 11 are:

• David Antoine, CBRE, CBNT; Chapter 15 New York City; Bronx, NY
• Greg Dahl, CPBE; Chapter 96 Rockford; Rockford, IL
• Dustin Hapli, CBNE; Chapter 26 Chicago 26; Buffalo Grove, IL
• Jeff Juniet, CBTE; Chapter 42 Central Florida; Orlando, FL
• Sam Wallington, CPBE; Chapter 103 Nashville; Columbia, TN
• Fred Willard, CPBE, ATSC3, 8-VSB, CBNT; Chapter 37 District of Columbia; Dunkirk, MD

Antoine, Dahl and Willard were incumbents and were re-elected.

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 nearly 4,000 members. Those elected will begin their terms on Sept. 11, 2024, during the SBE Membership Meeting. They will join the other six directors who have another year remaining in their terms:

• Terry Douds, CPBE; Chapter 52 Central Ohio; Lancaster, OH
• Brad Humphries, CBT; Chapter 45 Charlotte; Charlotte, NC
• Zhulieta Ibisheva, CBTE; Chapter 50 Hawaii; Honolulu, HI
• Charles "Ched" Keiler, CPBE, 8-VSB, ATSC3, CBNE; Chapter 53 South Florida; Deerfield Beach, FL
• David Ratener, CPBE, CBNT; Chapter 16 Seattle; Kent, WA
• Jeff Welton, CBRE; Chester, NS

Andrea Cummis, CBT (Chapter 15 New York City), continues to serve as immediate past president.

The newly elected will be sworn in during the SBE Membership Meeting on Sept. 11 during the SBE National Meeting, held in conjunction with the Midwest Regional Broadcasters Clinic in Middleton, WI. The conference is a joint production of the state broadcast associations of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers is the professional organization of television and radio engineers and those in related fields. The SBE has nearly 4,000 members in 115 chapters across the United States and in Hong Kong and Eastern Europe. There are also members in more than 25 other countries. Most chapters meet monthly and offer educational programs and an opportunity to network with other broadcast technical professionals. The SBE offers the preeminent technical broadcast certification program in the U.S. and an expansive list of educational programs for broadcast engineers, operators, technicians, and broadcast IT professionals.

For more information about the SBE, contact James Ragsdale, executive director, at jragsdale@sbe.org or 317-846-9000, or visit the SBE website, sbe.org.

INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers has elected Ted Hand president of the association for 2023, succeeding Andrea Cummins, who served for two terms. Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, ATSC3, DRB, was elected to his first one-year term as president, which will commence on Sept. 28, 2023. Ted is a member of SBE Chapter 45 Charlotte (North Carolina), and an SBE Fellow Member.

"I look forward to working with the officers, board and SBE membership to further the goals of the Society, including the SBE education and mentoring efforts, which are important to me,” Hand said. “I also want to keep the SBE on the forefront of RF spectrum protection." 

A member of SBE since 1981, Hand is currently serving his second one-year term as SBE vice president. He served as SBE secretary from 2007 to 2011 and in 2015, and SBE treasurer from 2019 to 2021. He has served on the SBE Board of Directors several times: 2002-2004, 2005-2007, 2013-2015, and in 2018.

Elected to vice president is Kevin Trueblood, CBRE, CBNT, of Chapter 90 Southwest FL. Kevin currently serves as SBE treasurer. Kevin has also served as SBE secretary and served one year on the Board of Directors.

Jason Ornellas, CBRE (Chapter 43 Sacramento), was elected treasurer, a position he also held in 2021. He served on the Board of Directors from 2017 to 2021. Geary S. Morrill, CPBE, AMD, CBNE (Chapter 91 Central Michigan), has been elected secretary. Geary has served on the SBE Board of Directors since 2019.

Serving two-year terms on the board of directors, which also begin Sept. 28 are:

• Terry Douds, CPBE; Chapter 52 Central Ohio; Lancaster, OH
• Brad Humphries, CBT; Chapter 45 Charlotte; Charlotte, NC
• Zhulieta Ibisheva, CBTE; Chapter 50 Hawaii; Honolulu, HI
• Charles "Ched" Keiler, CPBE, 8-VSB, ATSC3, CBNE; Chapter 53 South Florida; Deerfield Beach, FL
• David Ratener, CPBE, CBNT; Chapter 16 Seattle; Kent, WA
• Jeff Welton, CBRE; Chester, NS

Ibisheva, Keiler and Ratener were incumbents and were re-elected.

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 4,500 members. Those elected will begin their terms on Sept. 28, 2023, during the SBE Membership Meeting. They will join the other six directors who have another year remaining in their terms:

• David Antoine, CBRE, CBNT; Chapter 15 New York City; Bronx, NY
• Greg Dahl, CPBE; Chapter 96 Rockford; Rockford, IL
• Mark Heller, CPBE; Chapter 80 Fox Valley; Two Rivers, WI
• Tom McGinley, CPBE, AMD, CBNT; Chapter 16 Seattle; Missoula, MT
• Shane Toven, CPBE, DRB, CBNE; Chapter 43 Sacramento; Antelope, CA
• Fred Willard, CPBE, 8-VSB, CBNT; Chapter 37 District of Columbia; Washington, DC

Andrea Cummis, CBT (Chapter 15 New York City), becomes the immediate past president.

The newly elected will be sworn in during the SBE Membership Meeting on Sept. 28 during the SBE National Meeting, held in conjunction with the Midwest Broadcast and Multimedia Technology Conference in Columbus, Ohio. The conference is a joint production of the state broadcast associations of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.

INDIANAPOLIS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers has announced the results of its 2019 election for the national board of directors, revealing Wayne Pecena has been chosen as the next president of the SBE, replacing Jim Leifer, who becomes the immediate past president.

Pecena, a member of SBE’s chapter 99 in College Station, Texas, is the assistant director of educational broadcast services at Texas A&M University, where he also serves as the director of engineering for public broadcast stations KAMU FM & TV. Pecena will serve a one-year term as the society’s president.

“I look to continue the strategic planning implementation work that began under President Leifer, while insuring that the future certification, continuing education and professional service needs of all SBE members are met as our industry and technology continues to change,” Pecena said.

Three other officers were elected to one-year terms: Andrea Cummis (Chapter 15, New York; Roseland, N.J.) was voted vice president; Kevin Trueblood (Chapter 90, Southwest, Fla.; Ft. Myers, Fla.) will become the secretary; and Ted Hand (Chapter 45, Charlotte, N.C.) was voted to the position of treasurer.

Six individuals were also elected to serve two-year terms on the board of directors: Mark Fehlig (Chapter 40 San Francisco; Walnut Creek, Calif.); Charles Keiler (Chapter 53 South Florida; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); Geary Morrill (Chapter 91 Central Michigan; Saginaw, Mich.); Jason Ornellas (Chapter 43 Sacramento, Calif.); Chris Tarr (Chapter 28 Milwaukee); and Dan Whealy (Chapter 96 Rockford; Waterloo, Iowa).

The newly elected officers and board members will begin their terms on Oct. 16, where they and the previously elected board members will continue to develop policy and programs for its members.

LAS VEGAS—The Society of Broadcast Engineers has elevated three members to Fellow: Frank Giardina, CPBE; Robert Hoffman, CPBE; and Ted Hand, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB. The SBE board of directors elected them at its meeting April 23 during the NAB Show.

Frank Giardina

“Our newest Fellow members exhibit the outstanding qualities of outstanding broadcast engineers worthy of the Society’s highest member grade,” said Jerry Massey, CPBE, 8-VSB, AMD, DRB, CBNT, president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. “Each has taken his own unique path to success in broadcast engineering, and I congratulate them on this recognition.”

To earn this distinction, members must have made significant contributions to the broadcast engineering field or the SBE. Candidates are nominated by their peers. Since the society’s founding, 75 members have been honored with the Fellow rank.

Giardina, shown at right, is the director of engineering/IT for the Cumulus Media Birmingham, Ala., market. His interest in electronics and radio began when he started a radio “repair shop” in the family garage, leading to a summer job in a local repair shop. He obtained his amateur novice test at age 12, then his Technician License, and then his First Class Radiotelephone Operator License at 16. He currently holds an Extra Class license. His career includes work as a component test technician at Rockwell-Collins in Dallas before returning to Birmingham to work at stations including WAQY, WBRC(AM)/FM, WSGN, WAPI(AM)/FM, WZRR and WJOX. He is a past chair of SBE Chapter 68 Birmingham, and is currently frequency coordinator and certification chair. He is an instructor in the Alabama Broadcasters Association’s Engineering Academy, teaching AM and FM transmission and reception.

Hoffman is the chief engineer of Hubbard Radio St. Louis and stations WIL(FM), WARH(FM) and WXOS(FM). In 1971, he got his first radio job in radio as the on-air producer for “The Teen Show” at WINI in Murphysboro, Ill., where he also became a morning and afternoon host and operations and music director. His career has taken him to stations in Mt. Vernon, Ill., and Cape Girardeau, Mo., and St. Louis. He has worked for the same stations for more than 19 years. He has been the meeting coordination and program chair for Chapter 55 St. Louis since 1995.

Ted Hand

Hand, left, is director of engineering/operations at Cox Media Group’s WSOC(TV) in Charlotte, N.C. His TV career began at WTVZ and then WAVY in Norfolk, Va. He has also worked for Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh and WTKR and then WGNT in Hampton Roads, Va. Hand has been active in SBE Chapter 54 Hampton Roads, Va., for many years, serving as webmaster. He is also active in SBE Chapter 45 Charlotte. In 2016, both chapters honored him with their chapter’s Engineer of the Year awards. He served 11 of 14 years on the SBE board of directors, and he was secretary for five of those years. He has also chaired the SBE Frequency Coordination Committee.

The new Fellows will also be recognized during the SBE National Awards Dinner on Oct. 26 in Denver at the annual SBE National Meeting, which will be held in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain AV Expo.