John Winegard Founder Of The Winegard Company Inducted Into The 2005 Consumer Electronics Hall Of Fame

Among 11 distinguished professionals to join the existing 87 members.

Burlington, Iowa (PRWEB) October 20, 2005 -- Winegard Company is very pleased to announce that John Winegard, founder of the Winegard Company, was formally inducted into the 2005 Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame during its Industry Forum in Las Vegas on October 18, 2005.

The CE Hall of Fame program, now in its sixth year, recognizes the accomplishments of the consumer technology industry that provides the products and services that inform, educate, entertain and keep consumers connected. For this year's class, the voting took place on November 9, 2004 in New York City with a panel of media and industry professionals, who judged the hundreds of nominations that were submitted by manufacturers, retailers and industry journalists. This new class of the CE Hall of Fame members was announce during the opening keynote speech at the 2005 International CES held in Las Vegas, NV on January 6-9.

Winegard Company was founded in 1954 in Burlington Iowa by John. He began designing outdoor TV antennas in 1948 to receive a signal from TV station WBKB (now WBBM) broadcasting from Chicago, two hundred miles east and north of Burlington.

This family-owned, multi-million-dollar firm was born in a basement from several lengths of aluminum tubing, a hand drill, a hacksaw and about $200 in capital. The Horatio Alger mystic is still alive and well in the stories told about the self-educated, engineer/inventor who founded the company and rode the wave of a video explosion that spawned hundreds of other companies at its peak. It took more than innovative genius, however, to stay on the crest of that volatile wave and emerge as a leader in an industry where less than half a dozen companies remain.

Following the war, he returned to Burlington as a radio repairman just as television was developing. Two hundred miles east of Burlington, Chicago was broadcasting from TV station WBKB (now WBBM), and just as he had done years before when he wanted that telegraph set, he constructed his own antenna and installed it on the roof of a local appliance dealer’s shop. Soon friends were giving him orders for similar antennas — and Winegard Company was born.

In the early 70’s John Winegard began spending more and more time in Evergreen, Colorado. And in 1975, Randy came to work at Winegard fulltime and John moved to Colorado. The Winegard Company is much different to manage today than it was 30 years ago, but Randy has remained steadfast in his father’s commitment to quality and customer service. He admits it wasn’t always easy making the transition from founder’s son to manager at first.

John Winegard died on Feb 19, 2002. Randy Winegard, the founder’s son, became President of the Company in 1977, successfully bridging a transition from the school kid who sold candy bars to Winegard employees to a modern, innovative manager with a presence and a direction of his own.

“I feel comfortable in this job now,” Randy says, “and I have a direction, and because I have a direction, the company has a direction.” “My father believed in quality, and we have an historical strength based on that, but the responsibility for maintaining and improving quality rests with current management. You can’t just say you’re committed to it. You have to get involved.”

Having held 60 patents over the years, 26 current US and 2 current foreign patents; Winegard Company has accomplished many “firsts” in the industry. John Winegard designed and built the world’s first all channel Yagi antenna which completely changed the antenna industry. Winegard is proud of its founder and the Company’s reputation for quality products and has great appreciation for the customers who have used Winegard products for over 50 years. Under the direction of President and CEO Randy Winegard, Winegard Company will continue to grow with new products and new customers proving without doubt that they are “Clearly the World’s Best!”

If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Randy Winegard, please call Michael Sherman at 319-754-0604 or send an email to msher@winegard.com.

About Winegard:

The Winegard Company is widely considered an innovator and pioneer in product design, performance and assembly and has consistently adapted to meet the challenges of the ever-changing electronics market. It remains committed to continuous improvement in the quality, cost and delivery of its products and services to effectively meet all of its customer’s needs and currently designs and manufactures more than 1,000 different products in six product lines distributed in all states and worldwide, including:

• Bundled Signal Distribution: Video, VoIP and High Speed Data and More, On A Single Cable Run

• Satellite Antennas and Mounts: Residential antennas ranging in size from 46 cm to 1 meter.

• Mobile Television Reception Products: RV, Trucking, and Marine applications. Satellite systems ranging from manual crank-up models to automatic satellite tracking systems with GPS/DVB. Off-air antennas including bi-directional and omni-directional VHF/UHF/FM antennas. Ground Antenna Mounts and Accessories.

• Off-Air Antennas: From DC to 5.8 gigs AM/FM/VHF/UHF Antenna Systems, Distribution and Pre-Amplifiers, Power Supplies and Accessories

• Telemetry: Medical and Data Antenna Systems, Distribution Amplifiers, Power Supplies and Accessories.

• Two-way Fixed/Transportable Mobile Satellite Internet Systems: offers real-time IP, video, voice, audio and data communications virtually anywhere, anytime.

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