In an effort to upgrade the audio quality in their administration building’s main conference room, the Silsbee Independent School District (ISD) reached out to the education AV specialists at Southwest Building Systems. Silsbee is a town of under 10,000 in southeastern Texas that operates four public schools.
“This is the school district’s main conference room, where they hold their monthly meetings,” notes Brent Thornhill, General Manager of Southwest Building Systems. “Their needs had evolved over the years, but the technology in the conference room had not. We discussed how a proper system approach could eliminate feedback, improve sound quality and add new capabilities. It was a much-needed change, and they were ready for it.”
Thornhill based his system design around equipment from Bosch and Electro-Voice. A Bosch PLENA matrix digital sound system serves as the core of the solution, configured to precisely address the room’s various requirements. The PLM-8M8 eight-channel DSP matrix mixer combines multi-zone flexibility with high-fidelity audio to accommodate board meetings, training sessions and presentations; a pair of Bosch PLM-WPC wall-mounted control panels make adjusting the system simple. Sound quality in the room was upgraded with three EVID C6.2 two-way ceiling speakers from Electro-Voice.
For school board meetings, Thornhill installed a Bosch CCS 1000 D digital discussion system with 12 tabletop discussion devices distributed around the large U-shaped conference table. Straightforward setup is a system hallmark, with configuration via an integrated web browser and plug-and-play daisy-chain wiring between devices. Each device integrates a gooseneck microphone and small loudspeaker, and the system includes automatic Digital Acoustic Feedback Suppression for superior sound quality. Features such as built-in recording to internal or removable media adds further user-friendly functionality. The school board chose an open-mic approach, with priority override and muting capability for the superintendent and board president. The compact design of the discussion devices also allows them to be rearranged easily to meet current social distancing requirements.
Southwest Business Systems specified an Electro-Voice RE3 wireless microphone system to provide vocal sound reinforcement during public meetings, eliminating the need to run cables. A PolarChoice Satellite-18 gooseneck mic is at the main podium, while a PolarChoice Boundary mic can be deployed for tabletop pickup. Both house RE3 bodypacks neatly within their bases. A third RE3 bodypack and a CL3 cardioid lavalier mic are also on hand for speeches and presentations. The final audio source is the room’s laptop PC, used for presentations.
All the above audio sources are connected to the PLENA matrix for flexible routing across both audio zones – the ceiling speakers and the discussion system. Audio from the discussion system is sent to the ceiling speakers for the public attendees, and sound from the wireless microphones and laptop PC feeds into the discussion system, ensuring that all board members hear everything, effortlessly.
With the ease of use engineered into the system, Southwest Building Systems only needed a single in-service training session with the superintendent’s secretary and the district’s IT director to bring the system online. “This was a huge upgrade for Silsbee school district,” notes Brent Thornhill. “It looks great, sounds great and it’s not intimidating to use. They already had their first meeting with it, and everyone loves the system.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
