I’m Jason Unger, the publisher of cepro.com ... my wife and I live outside of Washington DC, recently relocated from Boston.

Thankfully, we never picked up the accent

This is Derek with Interactive Homes, Inc., outside of the Philadelphia, PA, USA area.  I provide consulting and implementation services for manufacturers and consumer electronics installation companies on new technologies, products, and strategies related to standards-based Distributed Audio, Video, Communications, and Control (DAVCC) systems for the home and consumer market spaces.  My long-term goal is to be instrumental in the development and deployment of entertainment systems on space stations and space colonies.

I occasionally write articles for CEPro (among some others), also.  Thanks for asking us to come aboard, Jason.

=D-

Hey Jason! I’m Ted Green and I have a business and marketing consulting firm based in the New York Metro market. I advise clients on a variety of issues, primarily marketing and marketing communications. I’ve been in the consumer electronics industry for thirty years and work with manufacturers, distributors, sales representative firms, installers/integrators, retailers, etc. I have been a judge for CEPro’s Marketing Awards (CMA’s) and appear to be hopelessly hooked on this crazy industry. Needless to say, I’m a big fan of CEPro!

Thanks for the invite to participate in this new forum!

Ted Green
The Stratecon Group, Inc.
Strategic Concepts in Marketing
http://www.stratecongroup.com

Hey all—Great to see participation here, and I look forward to much more. I co-founded CE Pro 14 years ago but I’ll never know half as much as DrFlick knows! - Julie Jacobson

Props to Jason for getting the ball rolling on the new forum.  In addition to contributing to CE Pro.com, I do work for the print and online editions of Marketnews, Canada’s major CE trade magazine.  When I’m not writing magazine articles I do a little freelance design and process consulting.  My business and industry blog, leedistad.com is widely read by literally dozens of people.

We are Mountain Audio & Video, LLC located in Blairsville, GA.  In case you’ve never heard of Blairsville, it is a small town in the NE Corner of Georgia just two hours northeast of Atlanta within the beautiful Appalachian Mountains.

After spending a week visiting relatives, we (Carole Konkel & Michael Hinman) made the great escape from the corporate grind in Florida and started this adventure during January 2002 not knowing what to expect, as well as, how many hours and dollars it actually would take to get this up and running.  We did know that there were and are many custom homes and seasonal custom mountain lake homes being built for both retirees from Atlanta, Florida and we’re now seeing more from the likes of Chicago.  We checked the phonebook and internet for other home theaters companies in the area and there were none.  We actually were the first to request a phone book yellow page category from Windstream (then Alltel) for “Home Theater”!  And currently, the only Cedia certified business within 50 miles. 

As system integrators, we offer Home Theater, Commercial A/V, Security and Fire, and Lighting Control systems. 

Challenges:  Finding qualified installers (we finally lucked out this year and he never had worked in this industry but loves this stuff!  He spends hours off-the clock at home improving his skills programming RTI remotes) that’s a hard asset to find!

Rewards:  Seeing the Home Theater customer’s reaction after system calibration and tweaking.  It is usually consist of eyes widening accompanied with a big smile of amazement and later referrals.  I always think of the vintage 70’s poster ad for Maxell tapes hung above my desk with the guy in the chair, hair blowing back, and Martini getting blown over by a JBL Century L100.

We love what we do and hope the trend continues upward!

I’m Steve Crowe, an assistant web editor for cepro.com.

I enjoy watching the Red Sox pummel the Baltimore Orioles (sorry Junger) time and time again.

I just graduated from Emerson College and live in Southboro, MA with my girlfriend and another friend.

Hello all.

Hi! I’m Joe Paone, and I’m a longtime reader and fan of CEPro.com.

I’m a senior account executive with what I believe is the best public relations firm in the CEDIA channel, Caster Communications, based in Wakefield, Rhode Island. We represent numerous companies that you all (hopefully ) know and love! I’m the lead PR representative for Universal Remote Control, NuVo Technologies and Sooloos. Caster also represents Life|ware, Planar, Runco, Vidikron, Paradigm, Anthem, Microsoft WIndows Media Center, Richard Gray’s Power Company, Screen Research and SE2 Labs. As you might imagine, we’re rather busy at CEDIA EXPO, EHX and CES (aren’t we all?).

I embarked on my new career as a PR person with Caster last August, after a 16-year career as a tech journalist. I’ve been working in the CEDIA channel since 2002. From 2005 to 2007, I was the editor-in-chief of CustomRetailer magazine, one of CE Pro‘s competitors. With Caster, it’s been really nice to deal with all of the fantastic CE Pro peeps as partners rather than as rivals.

I am (or rather, was) a lifelong Philadelphian, and I will always remain head over heels in love with Philly. Over the last nine months or so, I have made the somewhat awkward transition to life in idyllic Wakefield. The accents, the Boston sports fans and the general laid-back, nightlife-averse atmosphere notwithstanding, I’ve grown to love small-town New England living. It doesn’t hurt that the ocean is five minutes away. I could use some good Vietnamese or Mexican food though.

I love indie rock (of the poppy, droney, heavy, post-punky, scuzzy and spazzy varieties alike), Philadelphia sports (yes, I might have clinical depression), my significant other, walking/biking to work, facilitating communication and understanding and Yuengling Lager, which is so, so tragically not available here.

Viva junger!

Joe

Joe—sorry to see the Flyers bite the bullet. At least the Phillies are in the hunt!

I’m taking solace in watching the overhyped, Flyer-slaying Penguins get gently smothered out of existence by the Red Wings in the Finals, Jason. Bob Archer and I agree: Detroit is a terrific choice to be anyone’s second-favorite NHL team. How’s that for a ringing endorsement?

The Phillies’ offense is unstoppable this week. And the pitching ain’t bad, either.

You have to be loving those last-place Yankees right about now, Jason. It’s been a long while since your O’s have approached June perched above them!

The latest news about tru2way is big for our industry. I see Julie’s all over it this morning (no surprise there). Very curious to hear what CIs have to say about it!

Hi,

My name is Donald.  I am the president of Lipford Design and Remodeling Inc., a residential remodeling company located just outside of Washington DC.  We specialize in small to mid-size projects related to the design and build of kitchens and bathrooms, home theater design and install, whole house audio and home automation solutions.

I am glad to be a participant on this site and look forward to sharing old and new ideas relative to the home construction and home electronics industry.

My name is Casey, I just joined VUDU providing support to our dealers with a focus on Control Systems.. Before VUDU I was with Kaleidescape for three years.

When I’m not at work, I enjoy Crestron programming and User Interface design, reading CEPro and Lee’s blog, watching every Red Sox game on NESN HD and watching tons of movies.

Jeff Greninger, Switch2 Digital Media, LLC. out of central New Jersey. We are a new company to the industry but bring experience from other fields. We are exciting to be a part of this community and the exciting times of digital convergence ahead.

I look forward sharing experiences and information with fellow industry professionals.

Switch2 Digital Media, LLC.
http://www.switch2digitalmedia.com

Hello all!  I just joined this forum and this is my first post...how fitting, right?

My name is James Shaffer.  I am the owner/operator of AV Document Solutions.  We provide support services for AV contractors.  Our services include both non-technical and technical services.  I would like to invite anyone interested in learning more about us to please check out our website, listed below.

We too are a new company.  We are excited to get the word out.  We hope to hear from you!

Welcome to the community, Donald, Casey, Jeff and James!

Hello All!  Jack Southwick here from DBL Distributing in Scottsdale AZ.  I am the Custom Install and Cable buyer here and am a loyal CE Pro reader!  Nice to meet all of you!