New ESTA Board Announced

The Entertainment Services and Technology Association announces the election results for its 2005 Board of Directors. The newly elected directors are:

  • President: Bill Groener (Vice President – North American Sales, Color Kinetics)
  • Manufacturer Vice President: Bob Luther (CEO, Lex Products Corp.)
  • Dealer Director: Larry Schoeneman (President, Designlab Chicago, Inc.)
  • Manufacturer Director: Rich Wolpert (President, Union Connector Company)
  • Affiliate Director: David Taylor (Senior Consultant, Theatre Projects Consultants)

Groener has a long history of service to the Association, having previously served as the Chair of the Technical Standards Committee, Dealer Director, Affiliate Vice President, and a member of numerous committees including Long-Range Planning and the recent Buyers Survey. He is in the unique position of having, during the course of his career, been a Dealer, Manufacturer, Affiliate, and Individual member of ESTA thus giving him an unusually broad understanding of the issues important to each of these constituencies. In 2002 Bill received ESTA’s most prestigious honor, the Swan Award, which is presented to a member who has put forth exceptional efforts in time, expertise, and personal resources to enhance the value of membership for all.

Luther returns to the Board having previously served as an Affiliate Director in the mid 1990s, and currently is Co-Chair of the TSP Electrical Power Working Group.

Schoeneman and Taylor were elected to their first terms after having served brief appointments to fill vacated seats. Schoeneman is the Co-Chair of the TSP Fog and Smoke Working Group and Taylor serves on the Communications and Publications Committee.

Wolpert previously served a term as an Associate Director under the Theatrical Dealers Association.

Completing two terms as President of ESTA, Mike Wood will continue to remain active in the association. He recently joined the ETCP Council as Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, and as Immediate Past President he will sit on the Executive Committee and chair the Ethics Committee. Wood has demonstrated remarkable leadership over the past six years as he has guided ESTA through many important developments including the creation of the Entertainment Technician Certification Program and the emergence of the Technical Standards Program into the world leader in standards development for our industry.

The new Board members take office on January 1, 2005.

Continuing to serve on the Board will be Dealer Vice President Dinna Myers of Musson Theatrical; Affiliate Vice President Mark West of Downhome Productions; Treasurer Frank Stewart of Specialty TECH Services; Secretary Erik Magnuson of The MAGNUM Companies; Dealer Directors Tim Hansen of Oasis Stage Werks and Rick Rudolph of Stage Euqipment and Lighting; Manufacturer Directors Graham Likeness of Pathway Connectivity; and Fred Mikeska of Creative Stage Lighting; and Affiliate Directors Duncan MacKenzie of Proskenion Design and Greg Meeh of Jauchem and Meeh.