FAIRFAX, VA – Oct. 6, 2021 – AVIXA is pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2021 Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award is the late Fred Bargetzi, former Chief Technology Officer for Crestron.
The Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed on an industry member by AVIXA. The award’s namesake Mackey Barron, founder of HB Communications, spent more than six decades as a pioneer and leader in the pro AV industry.
The 2021 recipient Fred Bargetzi, a 30-year Crestron veteran, was instrumental in guiding the evolution of the pro AV industry into the world of digital transformation and IoT through his leadership and technology invention. When he started his career at Crestron in 1990, the company produced hard-button panels and monochromatic touch panels. Under Bargetzi’s leadership, the control industry blossomed to its current state of control via many devices including personal devices. Bargetzi’s name is on 22 patents that have defined the pro AV industry’s transformation from analog to digital, such as control via ethernet (e-Control).
“I only experienced Fred from afar. But even in that, his brightness shown clearly across the landscape of our industry,” said David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, CEO of AVIXA. “It was easy to see his intellect and innovative contributions to the industry over the course of 30 years. But if you looked deeper, you found the impact of his passion and contributions across an entire generation of thousands of engineers, inventors, and creators. For his contributions in the past and perhaps more importantly the impact that he will have for generations ahead, it is a true honor to present the Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award. I only wish we’d had more time to hear his laughter, experience his energy, and reap the rewards of his generosity.”
Fred Bargetzi’s Mackey Barron Distinguished Achievement Award will be celebrated at InfoComm 2021 in Orlando, Fla., on Thurs., Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. on the Technology Innovation Stage. During the ceremony, all the winners of AVIXA’s 2021 AV Professional Awards will be revealed. They include the Adele De Berri Pioneers of AV, CTS Holder of the Year, Educator of the Year, Women in AV, Young AV Professional, Event Design of the Year, and Harald Thiel Volunteer of the Year awards.
