ECIA Announces Distinguished Service Award Winners

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Atlanta, Ga. – At its annual conference ECIA honored some of its top members with the Distinguished Service Awards. The awards are presented to individuals who have made significant contributions to the association. This year's roster of honorees is especially noteworthy for having devoted time and energy above and beyond their day jobs in the service of the association and the industry. The award acknowledges the dedication and hard work of these leaders and expresses the gratitude of ECIA members and staff.

ECIA Chairman Blair Haas, Bud Industries, presented award plaques to the 2015 recipients and noted their unique contributions:

Jim Banovich of Marsh Electronics has been a member of either the ECIA Foundation Board or NEDA Foundation Board since 2007 and held officer positions during that time. He has also served on the EDS Planning Committee since 2013. The ECIA Board appreciates Jim's perspective as a regional distributor with unique needs and the company's didication to FIRST Robotics. Jim is also a member of the Executive Agenda, Wisconsin's oldest and largest membership organization dedicated exclusively to executive development.

Joe Biernacki of Stackpole Electronics, Inc. is active in the EIA Standards Council, which is run through ECIA. He chairs the P-1 Committee on Resistive Devices and participates in several of the passive engineering committees and the automated component handling committee. He is also currently spearheading work on a new test procedure that will be developed as a standard. His council work is invaluable to the organization.  Joe is a Certified Quality Auditor, Certified Quality Engineer and Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence, and therefore

David Doherty of Digi-Key Electronics has led the ECIA Foundation Board  since 2011 and been instrumental in guiding it in its updated mission of promoting the value of the electronics components industry through various initiatives. His tenure has resulted in ECIA Foundation projects that benefit universities, STEM education and veterans hiring. Dave has been involved with the association since the NEDA days in 2007. He was Executive Conference Chair in 2012 – the year of Super Storm Sandy. Dave will transition to the ECIA board in January where his ability to clearly guide with a vision toward the future will be invaluable.

Perry Fox of Tonar Industries was elected to the NEDA Foundation Board in 2004 and has been actively involved ever since. His service has included terms on the NEDA Board, the ECIA Board and most recently the Executive Committee. He was involved in the merger of the NEDA and ECA associations that formed ECIA today. When called to participate on ECIA’s Strategic Planning Committee, Perry readily stepped forward offering insight into the needs and wants of regional distribution.

Greg Jerrehian of Phoenix Contact USA was a founding ECIA board member in 2011 and has helped guide the association’s strategy to provide meaningful initiatives, based on his personal experience coming up through the ranks of Phoenix Contact. In addition to his day job and his ECIA service, Greg is active in the industry through his work with EDS where he has been on the Board since 2011 and is currently President.

Hayne Shumate of Mouser Electronics has brought dedication and deep expertise to his role on the Steering Committee for the ECIAauthorized.com inventory search site. Hayne has provided keen insight and a strategic vision that has been invaluable to the site's success as one of the top inventory search sites on the web.

Mike Swenson of Mel Foster Company was influential in the formation of ECIA in 2011, was a founding Board member and remains active in association endeavors. He chaired the annual Executive Conference in 2013 and followed that up as a member of the ECIA Executive Committee. He offers valuable perspectives on behalf of manufacturers’ reps but always objectively for the greater good of the industry.

Bob Willis recently retired from the Electronic Components Industry Association. He led the Electronics Components Association prior to its merger with NEDA and has been one of the industry's most dedicated, colorful, and contributory leaders. In 2011 Willis became ECIA's resident technologist serving the broader technical needs of IP&E, semiconductor and a new generation of products addressing system solutions. For many years he presided over the association’s statistics collection and reporting and ran the CARTS meetings. Over the past few years, he skillfully managed the EDS show.

ECIA and the ECIA Foundation salute the generosity and dedication of these award recipients.

About ECIA
The Electronic Components Industry Association (ECIA) is made up of the leading electronic component manufacturers, their manufacturer representatives and authorized distributors. ECIA members share a common goal of promoting and improving the business environment for the authorized sale of electronic components to the end customer. Comprised of a broad array of leaders and professionals representing all phases of the electronics components supply chain, ECIA is where business optimization, product authentication and industry advocacy come together. ECIA members develop industry guidelines and technical standards, as well as generating critical business intelligence. For more information, visit www.ecianow.org or call 678-393-9990.