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This year's Technology Council Award winners are, left to right: Peter Zdgiebloski and Robbie Hall of CMC Rebar Virginia, Innovator of the Year Award; Greg Snowman of Sterling Blower Systems, Technology Company of the Year; and Jeff Schleicher, a precision machine technology instructor from E.C. Glass High School, Educator of the Year.
Tech Council announces 2009 award winners at annual dinner
Virginia's Region 2000 Technology Council honored two companies and one individual who have made outstanding contributions in the tech sector this past year at its Eighth Annual Awards Banquet held on Tuesday, May 19 at the Kirkley Hotel in Lynchburg.
This year's technology award winners are:
- Innovator of the Year: CMC Rebar Virginia, Robbie Hall, technical center manager, accepting award. Award sponsored by AREVA.
- Educator of the Year: Jeff Schleicher, a precision machine technology instructor at E.C. Glass High School. Award sponsored by nTelos.
- Technology Company of the Year: Sterling Blower Systems, Dave Snowman, president/owner, accepting award. Award sponsored by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology.
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) Rebar Virginia opened its Technical Center in 2006 in Amherst County to expand its detailer development and production operations in Virigina. Detailers work closely with structural engineers and concrete contractors and use state-of-the-art computers and software to develop placing drawings for use by ironworkers during the construction of reinforced concrete structures. The Technical Center is the first detailer-training center for CMC and one of the first in the industry.
Sterling Blower Company is located in the Lake Vista Corporate Centre in Forest and has emerged as a true leader in the recycling business. The company is comprised of two divisions: a systems division which designs, engineers, and manufactures recycling systems for a wide variety of companies and government agencies, and a TruCut Fabricators division, which is a custom sheet metal manufacturer for blue chip companies.
Jeff Schleicher has been a precision machining instructor at E.C. Glass High School for 19 years, developing his lab into one of the best in the state. Students from his classes have gone on to become some of the finest machinists in the region and he has produced numerous district and state Skills USA-VICA champions, including national top 10 finishers at the US Championships on several occasions.
More than 160 technology entrepreneurs, educators, and innovators enjoyed a networking reception and dinner, followed by an awards ceremony in which more than two dozen technology companies were recognized for contributions to innovation and growth in the region.
The evening also featured guest speaker Jim Batterson, Senior Advisor to the Commonwealth on S.T.E.M. Initiatives and a retired Aerospace Engineer from NASA Langley Research Center. Batterson emphasized the importance of preparing children for the future economy and outlined efforts to increase engineering education in the Commonwealth.