SSPI Honors Industry Leaders with the 2012 Promise and Mentor Awards

New York, NY (PRWEB) October 24, 2012

The Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) has selected the 2012 Promise and Mentor Award winners. The recipients will be honored during SSPI’s 7th annual Future Leaders Dinner on November 13 at The Harmonie Club in Manhattan on the evening before the SATCON conference and exhibition.

The Promise Awards

The Promise Awards recognize the potential of young satellite professionals to play a leadership role in the industry. The 2012 winners are:

•     Brian Mengwasser, Engineer, Innovation Projects, SES, for his ability, dramatically demonstrated during response to the Galaxy 15 incident, to analyze complex problems and implement innovative solutions supporting both the engineering and business sides of the company.
•     Nicole Robinson, Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Communications, SES Government Solutions, the youngest vice president in the history of her company, for a successful campaign to shift how the US Government approaches procurement of satellite capacity.
•     Karen Yasumura, Government Affairs Manager, Intelsat General Corporation, for advancing the common agenda of the industry by helping governmental users better understand and appreciate the commercial industry.

Mentor of the Year

Richard Wolf, Vice President, Telecommunications & Affiliate Support, ABC Television Network, was selected as SSPI’s Mentor of the Year, for more than three decades of unwavering support for the professional advancement of his colleagues in broadcasting and satellite.

"Open a phone book of the satellite or broadcast industry, and it would be hard to find a person whose career he hasn’t touched.” That is how one person described the influence of Richard Wolf of ABC Television.

He is described as a quiet leader and a man who combines humility, professionalism and deep caring about the industry and the people who make it up. "He showed me what a real broadcaster is,” said a friend who started his career at the same time. "Attention to detail and commitment, never looking for a quick exit but making sure all the T’s were crossed. It taught me the proper mindset in a way that inspired me to work hard and better because of the example he set.”

About SSPI

The Society of Satellite Professionals International (http://www.sspi.org) is a nonprofit member-benefit society that serves satellite professionals throughout their working lives. With chapters in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, SSPI works to attract new talent to the industry, helps satellite professionals advance in their careers, works to increase the professional standing of members and honors extraordinary achievement by satellite professionals and the companies they work for.