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Polycom HD Video Powers The Tech Awards, Brings Visionaries Together Live 'On Stage' for Face-to-Face Conversation
Posted on Friday, October 21, 2011
PLEASANTON, Calif. - Oct 20, 2011 : Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in standards-based unified communications (UC), announced today it is supplying an HD video collaboration solution to power a live appearance at The Tech Awards Gala, an event recognizing entrepreneurs who are using technology to benefit humanity. The Polycom® HDX® solution will bring two past award laureates "on stage" via HD video to provide updates on their progress since winning the award. Laureates Venkatesh Mannar of the Micronutrient Initiative and Yvette J. Alberdingk Thijm of human rights non-profit organization WITNESS, will join from Polycom's Chicago and New York briefing centers, respectively, for a conversation with Master of Ceremonies Liz Claman of Fox Business Network, who will be in-person at The Tech Awards Gala in Santa Clara, Calif. Polycom President and CEO Andy Miller will address the Gala audience. This is Polycom's fourth consecutive year as the exclusive Global Communications Sponsor of The Tech Awards program.
 
"It's an honor and a privilege to help bring Venkatesh and Yvette to The Tech Awards Gala through lifelike HD video technology," said Miller. "Those who are being honored at The Tech Awards have truly changed the world for the better – something all of us in technology aspire to. At Polycom, our vision is to make it possible for millions of people to use video to communicate and collaborate from anywhere, at any time. Having these two former laureates share their experiences in real-time is a great testament to the power of video collaboration."
 
"Thanks to Polycom's cutting-edge technology The Tech Awards is able to bridge past and present laureates who can share their compelling, inspiring stories in real time, before the world," said Tim Ritchie, president of The Tech Museum. "Polycom continues to be a dependable partner of The Tech Awards, helping us to spread the word about the people who are using technology in creative ways to benefit humanity. Polycom's innovations are having a meaningful impact in how people communicate, collaborate, and stay productive."
 
The Polycom technology used in the live gala video conference includes:
  • The Polycom HDX series of room telepresence systems, which delivers lifelike video, voice, and content-sharing interactions, from auditoriums to personal workspaces to corporate meeting rooms, with Polycom's legendary HD quality and ease of use.
  • The Polycom® RealPresence™ Platform, which is the foundation of the Polycom experience and the most comprehensive software infrastructure for video collaboration. The platform includes universal video collaboration, video resource management, virtualization management, universal access and security, and video content management.
The Tech Awards, presented by Applied Materials in association with the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University, is a signature program of The Tech Museum. The international program recognizes laureates in five categories: Environment, Economic Development, Education, Equality, and Health. An individual is also honored as a James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian, which recognizes those whose broad vision and leadership help to alleviate humanity's greatest challenges. This year's recipient is renowned philanthropist and social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll. Past recipients include education and cross-cultural dialogue advocate Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Nobel Laureate and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Applied's Chairman Emeritus James C. Morgan, who inspired the award.
 
Since The Tech Awards began in 2000, 245 laureates around the world have been recognized for their work in changing lives for the better. The Tech Awards Gala will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center on Thursday, October 20, 2011, starting at 6 p.m. PT for an audience of 1400 Silicon Valley business executives, government officials, educators, and community leaders. For more information on The Tech Awards, please visit: http://thetechawards.thetech.org/.
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Douglas Fearing- Co-Founder / President

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.

Lois Fearing- Co-Founder/Accounting, Human Resources

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 Tresner-VP of Technology and Innovation

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.

Ben Voeck-Director of Commercial AV

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 Matson-Senior VP of Sales

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.