WEVA Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
August 29, 2001
Las Vegas - For the first time ever, pioneering videographers took their place in the WEVA International Wedding & Event Videography Hall of Fame during a special presentation that was part of the WEVA 2001 Creative Excellence Awards Banquet, held at the llth Annual WEVA EXPO.
The list of names, which included three videographers who passed away before
they could realize this honor, read like a Who's Who of the early days of
professional wedding and event videography. A tearful Kathryn Ritondo, Chair of the WEVA Inernational Special Awards Committee, presented the beautiful glass awards honoring those whose individual efforts and dedicated service to a nacent industry broke new ground well over a decade ago.
Here are the initial inductees into the WEVA Hall of Fame, who were honored
for their distinguished service to professional wedding and event videography
in the industry's early years. Ritondo noted that several of these individuals were involved in the establishment of the very first local videographers associations in the US (and Canada).
Walter Bennett
Bill Cafarelli
Joyce Bertolami
Fred Mattson
June Ellis
Dennis Marentette
Jim Kennedy
David Robin
For their pioneering creativity, innovation, and support of the industry in
general, the following videographers were inducted:
Bob LeBar
Tim Kichline
John Cooksey
John Goolsby
Steve Bollander
Frank Bella
Art Kade
Preceding the Hall of Fame Awards were the WEVA Special Awards. The Bob
LeBar Vision Award is named after the groundbreaking video animator. The
2001 award was presented to John Goolsby, of Cannon Video in Riverside, CA, for
innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.
The Walter Bennett Service to Industry Award is named for the late veteran
videographer who was instrumental in local association growth throughout the United States. For 2001, there were two award winners. For their exemplary service and dedication to education, the recipients were Joyce Bertolami, from Joy of Video, Woburn, MA, and Fred Mattson, of Acclaim Video Production, Minneapolis, MN.
The recipients of the WEVA Special Awards, past and present, were automatically inducted into the WEVA Hall of Fame.
As a prelude to the WEVA 2001 Creative Excellence Awards, the Special Awards
presentations were a recognition of the roots of professional wedding and
event videography and the pioneering efforts of those who helped shape our
specialized sector of professional video years before it could even be
called an "industry."
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