Cable TV Pioneers Selects Class of 2021

By Mike Farrell
published

24 new members include CEOs, techs and journalists that have made a positive impact on the industry

Cable TV Pioneers logo
(Image credit: Cable TV Pioneers)

 

The Cable TV Pioneers said it has selected 24 new members for induction into its Class of 2021, which will take place at a ceremony in conjunction with the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, scheduled for Oct. 11 in Atlanta. 

“Just as our industry rose to the challenge of keeping America connected this past year, these men and  women continued to make significant contributions on their business, home and community fronts,”  Pioneer chairman Dave Fellows said in a press release. “The Class of 2021 exemplifies the Pioneer spirit and  commitment to do the best no matter the circumstances.” 

This year’s class includes men and women from CEOs and company founders to techs and journalists who have made a positive impact on the cable TV business. This year’s honorees include Next TV, Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable Senior Content Producer -- Programming  R. Thomas Umstead, as well as Astound Broadband CEO Jim Holanda, Crown Media Family Networks President and CEO Wonya Lucas and 605 founder and CEO Kristin Dolan. 

“We think it will be a wonderful induction, and we hope to incorporate some of the unique elements  of the 2020 event that C-SPAN generously broadcast and streamed, like the engaging and fast-paced  inductee videos,” Pioneer co-chair, Yvette Kanouff said in a press release. 

The 24  inductees to the Cable TV Pioneers for 2021 are: Mark Adams, Cox Communications; Michael Adams, Broadband Semantics; Richard Amell, Bright House Networks; Peter Barton (Posthumous); Patricia Baughman, Cable One (Sparklight); Tracy Baumgartner, Comcast/NBC Universal; Jack Caparrell, Service Electric; Sherita Ceasar, Comcast; Kristin Dolan, 605; Dale Elifrits, Comcast; Diego M. Gastaldi, Vmware, Inc.; John Higginbotham, ACA Connects; Jim Holanda, Astound Broadband; Richard (Dick) Kirsche, Kirsche Consulting; Chris Lammers, CableLabs;  Filemon Lopez, Comcast; Wonya Lucas, Crown Media Family Networks; Amy Maclean, Cablefax; Jim McCauley, DB Communications; Tom McMillin, Nevis Advisors; John E. Roos, Insp; Robert (Bob) Scanlon, Shelter Cove, LLC; Patricia (Patsy) Smullin, California Oregon Broadcasting Inc.; R. Thomas (Tom) Umstead, Broadcasting + Cable Multichannel News.  

Details about the upcoming banquet can be found here. 

Mike Farrell
Mike Farrell

Mike Farrell is senior content producer, finance for Multichannel News/B+C, covering finance, operations and M&A at cable operators and networks across the industry. He joined Multichannel News in September 1998 and has written about major deals and top players in the business ever since. He also writes the On The Money blog, offering deeper dives into a wide variety of topics including, retransmission consent, regional sports networks,and streaming video. In 2015 he won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Profile, an in-depth look at the Syfy Network’s Sharknado franchise and its impact on the industry.